


There’s No Love for the Wicked

by ksuhi



Series: Villains When We Touch [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Codependency, Grey-A, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, M/M, More plot than porn, NaruSasu - Freeform, Not Happy or Healthy, Panic Attacks, Past OroSasu, Politics, Power Dynamics, Power Play, Slow Burn, Uchiha Sasuke Has Issues, asexual in sexual situations, not fluffy, political maneuvering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-04-20 04:16:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 33,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14252859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksuhi/pseuds/ksuhi
Summary: What if Naruto actually took a minute to listen to Sasuke at the Valley of the End? What if he argued that they work together instead of dismissing a revolution out of hand? And what if Sasuke found the leverage he needed to manipulate the whole situation?Chapter 694 Divergence.





	1. I Gotta Kill You, My Love

**Author's Note:**

> This story is my personal fix-it, but unlike most fics of that type, it won't be particularly happy. 
> 
> I draw a lot of inspiration from music. The story title, _There’s No Love for the Wicked_ , is a line from Meg Myer’s “I Really Want You to Hate Me”, and the chapter title, _I Gotta Kill You, My Love_ , is a line from her song “Monster” (I recommend the Semothy Jones Remix). Please check them out! Think of them as behind the scenes plot of a sort.

He stared across the water, Sasuke’s fine features taking the breath from his lungs.

He still could hardly believe that he was here, so close, even after fighting a war together. It was distracting, and he struggled to focus on the dark-haired teen’s words. But his brain must have been recording them while he wasn’t paying attention and they echoed in his ears.

“ _I learned not from Itachi’s words, but from the way he lived his life… he sacrificed both his clan and himself…_

_Itachi tried to sustain peace all by himself… Suffering bitter experiences, living in darkness as a criminal and a traitor… a shinobi who took on all hatred and protected the Land of Fire…_

_He was the true Hokage… It’s not the one acknowledged by all… but the one who accepts all the hatred that is worthy of that title…_

_My big brother failed in just one aspect. He let me, his little brother, live… he allowed the hatred to disseminate…_

_I’m not like my big brother… I am all alone. I alone can bear the weight of all the hatred now. And I alone will deal with everything personally. I will handle all of the shinobi’s problems… I’ll concentrate all hatred upon myself and bring together every single village under my control…_

_What the Hokage is to me… is someone who will sear away the darkness of all five villages with his own flame. And keep living by eating the ashes._ ”

Naruto felt himself fluster and bit back the knee-jerk reaction to shoot back with some stupid comment. But he had probably been silent for too long and didn’t want Sasuke to attack without a chance to respond with something. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, trying to give his brain a chance to get with it.

He glanced back at Sasuke, meeting his sharp, dark eyes and raising his voice to be heard across the distance, “You’ve thought a lot about this…”

The Jinchuuriki felt his mouth twist and he continued more firmly. “But you’re wrong about where your brother failed. You’re making the same mistake, trying to do everything alone! Itachi let you live, but he didn’t confide in you! There are things that you can’t do alone. That’s why things got so messed up!”

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow in a perplexed expression that managed to look mocking and drawled, “How is it that you can still be so naive? Things don’t always go the way you imagine. Like with these two stone statues…”

His face darkened and he looked disturbed for a moment before continuing.

“With revolution the villages will no longer have to bear darkness. And I alone will become the darkness. I’ll dispose of the deep darkness of the past, and build a pure white future from scratch.”

Naruto felt like pulling his hair in frustration and he ground his teeth. “But that’s what I’m saying, asshole! _Why_ do you think you have to do everything alone? Why do you think I’ll get in your way? I’ve been talking about changing the shinobi world since we were twelve! And what makes you think killing the Bijuu and the five Kage will solve anything?”

Sasuke pursed his lips briefly and then responded with a scowl, “I’m casting off the past. They’re a part of that.”

Fists clenching, the Uzumaki couldn’t stop himself from shouting, “But that’s stupid, Sasuke! You are so full of shit! Like you could forget what happened with Itachi? It’s practically all you’ll let yourself have!”

He tried to get a hold of himself and softened his voice, “Besides- I learned everything I know from the people of my past. How will you know if you’re making a mistake if you cut it all out?”

The Uchiha responded with a stony expression, “My version of the Hokage can only come to be by severing all bonds and being alone. I’m cutting all past mistakes and doubts here, and starting anew. Beginning by cutting you down.”

An almost fond expression crossed Sasuke’s face and he gestured to Naruto. “Yours will be the last blood I shed, in the memory of my late brother.”

He felt a hot wash of irritation spread through him, but it was tempered by a powerful resolve.

Itachi had trusted him to see this through.

“I won’t let you kill me, Teme. You need me. You can’t even keep track who all you plan to kill today. Am I the last or did you forget about the Kage?”

The other teen’s dark brows twitched in irritation.

 “Tch.”

They stared at each other for a moment, both measuring the other. Then, as if on some unspoken signal, they were both running, rushing to cross the distance between them. The two teens met, forearms locking, before they launched into a flurry of taijutsu.

Naruto grimaced as Sasuke stole the use of his hand to make seals. How did the bastard even come up with this shit? The blond nin kept dodging backwards to avoid a series of Katon blasts, while trying to form the seal for his Kage Bunshin, but the bastard wouldn’t give him a break.

Finally he got his chance when he was kicked flying quite a distance. He rushed Sasuke with his bunshin and managed to throw the Uchiha head over heels, flying into the side of a statue.

It was a momentary victory as the other nin recovered quickly and managed to fend the four of them off almost effortlessly.

Suddenly Sasuke used his Rinnegan to pull them all towards him and destroyed Naruto’s bunshin with a burst of black fire.

The Uzumaki felt a chill as he managed to pull up Kurama’s chakra, at the last possible moment, to block the deadly flames.

He swore under his breath. Naruto had been hoping he would be able to get through to Sasuke before things got this serious.

Clearly he was out of options, and the Jinchuuriki had no choice but to start using his Kurama Mode to press his friend harder.

Sasuke responded with a similar increase of aggression as his jutsu became more punishing. After a few more exchanges, Sasuke brought Susanoo into play and it forced Naruto to resort to Bijuu Mode.

The fight continued with a flurry of massive attacks, each one shaking the ground and throwing water hundreds of feet in the air.

Naruto found himself parrying and dodging more often than not and he could practically taste his opponent’s disdain.

Kurama pinioned Susanoo’s swords and the Uchiha took the chance to taunt him. “What’s the matter? Are you really just going to play defense?” he could hear the sneer in the other teen’s voice, but still wished he could see his face.

He was able to take advantage of his rival’s distraction and knocked Sasuke’s chakra construct back, tossing it to the surface of the water. Naruto readied a beast bomb but hesitated. This was getting really out of hand.

Suddenly it was like the wrath of heaven had been called down on his head. Some sort batshit crazy Raiton technique that he’d never seen before. The fierce current bore Kurama down under the water as the shocks tore through him.

As he struggled painfully back onto the surface, the other teen taunted him again, his tone almost concerned. “If you keep stalling, you’ll die.”

He was so _infuriating,_ but-

“I don’t want to kill you.” The Konoha nin growled out softly.

Naruto dragged himself to standing, fighting through a strangling in his throat to continue. “You’re trying to be alone again and I can’t let that happen! Especially since we both know what that’s like…”

His voice cracked and he had to clear his throat. “When I hear you talking about carrying everything on your shoulders… I feel the pain too… It really hurts. That’s why-” Naruto gathered himself and lunged towards Sasuke’s Susanoo.

“I can’t let you-” he began gathering another beast bomb while in motion, “-go there intentionally!”

For a moment it seemed as if his friend was frozen, but at his shout, Sasuke’s chakra construct gave a little shake, almost like settling feathers. Then at the very last moment, the Uchiha summoned a Chidori to Susanoo’s hand.

Attacks colliding, the blast expanded to blot out all sight.

When Sasuke began speaking, it was almost as if he was standing right in front of him.

“Don’t you ever stop talking, Dobe? There’s no point. We’re both different from the two boys who fought here long ago… I know your heart… and you, mine…” Instead of sounding angry or disdainful, now the teen sounded almost… resigned.

Despite his frustration, Naruto tried to keep his voice reasonable. “If you know my heart, you know that we want the same things! We both grew up in a world full of hate, alone, and starved for love. No one could live through that and not know that things have to change! I won’t let you kill the Kage, but can’t we still do this together?” Inwardly Naruto cringed. That last part had sounded a little too much like begging.

Sasuke made an exasperated noise. “This is why I have to cut you out of my life. You’re too soft to do what needs to be done. You’ll just get in my way. Have you ever even killed an enemy? Or do you just make friends with all of them?”

He felt his whole face heat up and sputtered indignantly, “Wha-? Sh-shut up, Teme! That’s not even the point!”

Sasuke gave him a stupid little smirk and maybe he did want to kill him a little…

But he had a point to make.

Naruto looked anywhere but Sasuke’s stupid face to keep his cool.

“Anyway! Killing the Kage doesn’t even make sense. They aren’t our enemies! The villages are finally united. The Kage will listen to us! If you need some kind of tactical reason, how about this one? If you kill my friends, we’ll lose powerful allies.”

The Uchiha’s eyes narrowed. “Idiot. They’re only your allies because there was a common enemy. Those old grudges aren’t gone, the villages just had to ignore them for a while to survive. But now all the mutual foes are gone. Eventually, conflicts between each village will rise back up.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “So what, Teme? You’re going to be the next big enemy? And what’ll happen after you’re gone?”

Sasuke looked at him like he’d never met anyone more stupid and Naruto kinda wanted to bite his face.

“You saw what happened with Madara, right?” Sasuke gestured to his left eye. “I have a lot of options I didn’t have before. The Rinnegan gives me access to reincarnation, immortality, who knows what else. I’ll control everything from the shadows.”

Naruto was pretty sure that now his own face looked like he’d never met anyone more stupid, but the other nin was apparently immune.

“You’re seriously planning to return to that hell, for the rest of your life? Or rather for all eternity? While being hated by everyone?” The Uzumaki’s voice was incredulous but inside he was filled with turmoil.

Naruto felt like his heart was being crushed. The bastard couldn’t be serious.

His friend shrugged. “To me, that’s what a Hokage ought to be.”

The two teens were thrown apart as their combined blast dissipated.

Sasuke’s Susanoo was ragged, missing parts and Naruto could feel that his own chakra construct was similarly affected.

The Uchiha scoffed. “That’s not even close to enough to kill me.”

Tugging at his hair, the teen groaned in frustration. _But they were just-_ but maybe he had only imagined that was what Sasuke would say. He had hoped that they had really been communicating.

“Stupid bastard! I’m trying to knock some sense into you! Why can’t you ever-!”

“Enough.” His friend cut him off, voice fierce.

Chakra swelled and suddenly he found himself having to dodge the Chibaku Tensei prisons, containing the Bijuu, as they rushed to surround Sasuke.

“I’m the strongest in this world right now.” Sasuke declared ferociously. “So right here, right now… This will be the end for you… My one and only friend.”

Bright chakra started pouring out of the prisons and Sasuke’s Susanoo immediately began absorbing it.

 _“This is bad…”_ Kurama gritted out. _“He’s merging all the chakra that’s been scattered into one and doing it unbelievably well too. Almost unrivaled. He’s easily as good as Old Man Sage. Well, except he’s doing the reverse… There’s no Gedo Statue so he’s making the Susanoo the vessel. Something crazy is going to come out. Don’t let your guard down, Naruto!”_

The Uzumaki stared grimly as Susanoo’s new form was unveiled. Why did it seem like they always grew so much stronger when they fought each other?

He just wanted to reach him.

As frustrating as the situation was, he thought he was starting to get the beginnings of an idea. If Sasuke’s was going to get an upgrade, then Naruto just needed one too.

 _“Kurama…_ _I need you to help me with this.”_

The old fox sent him a lopsided grin. _“Anything, Brat.”_

Kurama formed a seal and Naruto created four Bijuu-mode-bunshin in preparation.

Sasuke scoffed. “That jutsu again? Naruto… That jutsu of yours symbolizes your weakness.”

His voice softened for a moment, “That’s right… It’s a jutsu that covers up your loneliness!”

Naruto flinched, not expecting his friend to go there, and it _hurt_.

Sasuke took advantage of the effect of his words and slammed one of the bunshin to the ground. He then engaged the rest and the power difference was obvious as Naruto’s Kurama bunshin began losing charka limbs and getting busted to pieces.

It almost felt like a miracle, but they managed to force the Uchiha above the clouds. After that, arrow-shaped Raiton jutsu and beast bombs flew left and right, exploding everywhere.

During a slight break in the action, the bunshin panted in exhaustion, taking advantage of the transient calm to recover a bit, their chakra cloaks severely damaged and missing large chunks.

_Just a little longer…_

Sasuke, clearly feeling superior, sneered at Naruto. “You only hold a little piece of each Bijuu’s chakra. You can’t win against me now. Nor this…”

Lightning filled the sky around them, as a truly massive Raiton arrow began forming in front of Sasuke. Great flashes of electricity arced continuously and the sight was terrible and awe inspiring.

Plan of not, Naruto could feel himself sweat. _But-!_ “Not yet-! Kurama!”

 _“I might actually have amassed too much…”_ the fox commented wryly. _“It’s everything I have available. Here it comes!”_ The bunshin hiding out of sight dismissed itself and Naruto found himself hit with an amazing rush of nature energy.

It was definitely more than he needed, but he could work with that. He focused on merging with his bunshin’s chakra constructs. If he did it right, they should be way more powerful like this.

It _was_ powerful. The Uzumaki had never felt anything like it.

Kurama growled out, _“Let’s do this!”_ and Naruto shouted his agreement, forming two massive Rasenshuriken imbued with all the excess nature energy. He figured that should be more than enough to counter whatever shit Sasuke planned to throw at him.

Of course the bastard had to chime in. “You finally decided to kill me, huh?”

Sasuke actually sounded pleased, and it made the Uzumaki feel weary. He could hardly believe his friend still didn’t understand.

Naruto raised his voice to be heard, but it still came out softer than he intended. “We’ve taken on a lot of responsibility upon our shoulders… But-”

He couldn’t help but remember the rush of pride he felt that first time Sasuke had said he wanted to fight him. The first time he had ever felt acknowledged by a peer. Now it just felt like ashes in his chest.

“I do wanna fight you, and settle this between us. But not with the way you are now!” He let his Rasenshuriken fly and shouted, “You know what I mean – right, Sasuke?!”

His friend’s only response was to release the arrow he’d been holding.

The three attacks met between them and the resulting shockwave was catastrophic. It took over Naruto’s vision and he felt a little like the force might tear him apart.

Barely clinging to consciousness through the raging storm that their attacks had created, he found himself falling, the Jinchuuriki’s chakra cloak disintegrating as he lost altitude.

He had just enough chakra to land in a crouch, instead of on his head, in the ruins of the valley.

Looking over, he was in time to see Sasuke rolling from his back to his hands and knees, where he too must have fallen.

The dark-haired nin cursed viciously upon seeing his rival conscious and breathing. “You’re not-”

Sasuke started to rise and Naruto went to summon more bunshin, but before he could mold the chakra, Kurama was yelling in his ear.

_“Naruto! If my nature energy hadn’t made it to you in time, you would’ve been blown away just now! And your chakra’s already long past drained from-”_

Before the fox could finish his lecture, Sasuke shouted, “Amaterasu!” blood spilling from his Rinnegan.

Naruto once again coated his arm with Kurama’s chakra, and without missing a beat, he started to walk towards his friend, shedding the deadly black fire as he went.

 _Stupid, stubborn bastard_.

Sasuke brought his palms together with a slap, but suddenly grunted in pain, flinching and clutching his left eye.

Seeing his chance, Naruto dashed forward to kick the other teen under the chin, launching him off the ground. He quickly summoned bunshin and unleashed a punishing combo on Sasuke. At the last second, the Uchiha’s Sharingan flashed and he twisted, punching the Konoha nin in the face just as Naruto punched him.

They flew apart, and Sasuke quickly summoned Chidori-charged shuriken which stunned the Uzumaki’s bunshin. Then with a single swing of Chidori, three of them were dust. The last bunshin narrowly dodged disintegration and managed to hold out long enough for the original to knock the other teen flying.

Shakily summoning a Rasengan, he watched as Sasuke’s Chidori fizzled and disappeared. The nin stared at his empty hand dismayed before clenching it in frustration.

Naruto ran at the other teen, but his legs weren’t cooperating with him anymore and he stumbled and fell, losing his attack against the ground. He cursed to himself for a moment and out of nowhere he took a kick to the face.

It laid him out on his back and suddenly he had a lap full of angry Uchiha. He tried to hold the bastard back, but he couldn’t manage it in such an awkward position. He was taking way too many punches and finally he managed to grab hold of the other nin’s shirt. This gave the blond nin the leverage he needed to smash his forehead into Sasuke’s face and kick him away.

He dragged himself to his feet and looked plaintively at his friend lying on there on the ground. He didn’t want to do this anymore, but he couldn’t let the bastard go through with this stupid plan. Why did he always think he needed to do everything alone?

Sasuke stumbled to his feet with an irritated growl, “Give it up already…”

The Jinchuuriki sighed heavily and steeled his resolve, before they lurched forward, each shouting the other’s name.

They began battering each other with sloppy taijutsu and it quickly turned into a dirty brawl. No skill, just the strength left in their muscles. With every hit, blood flew, neither having the chakra to reinforce their bodies. It was devastating, punishing, but neither was willing to give in.

They kept at it as the day wore into dusk, both so exhausted that they were hardly hitting each other anymore.

For a while now the two rivals had just been stumbling around, falling into the little bit of water that had trickled down from the ruined waterfall.

Naruto wasn’t sure if it was funny or sad as they were reduced to slaps and back-hands, rolling around clumsily and sitting on their asses in the shallow pool.

It must have been too much for Sasuke to stomach also, because finally, they both managed to lever themselves up to standing and slowly shuffled towards each other.

They each swung at the other as if in slow motion and both punches were so weak that when they connected, they might as well have been friendly pats.

They leaned together for balance, gasping for breath, Naruto’s fist pressed to Sasuke’s face, the Uchiha’s fist pressed to the Uzumaki’s stomach.

“This is so stupid, Sasuke!” He managed to grit out.

The dark-haired teen looked at him but didn’t speak. Maybe he was as tired of fighting as Naruto.

“We want the same things, asshole.” The Konoha nin was talking fast, trying to be persuasive. He knew Sasuke wouldn’t give him a lot of time to talk. He leaned in more closely almost whispering now.

“I’m not going to get in your way… I just want to be next to you…” He slowly dropped his fist from Sasuke’s face and grabbed his shoulder to pull him closer.

His friend must have taken it as an aggressive move because Sasuke pushed away with the fist still pressed to Naruto’s midsection and the dark-haired teen nearly fell.

Good old Kurama must have been infusing chakra for him, because suddenly he felt steadier and he managed to grab Sasuke, pulling him close in an awkward sort of hug.

Struggling weakly for a moment, the nin let out a bunch of air in an infuriated puff before going limp in his hold.

“Did you forget what a hug was, Teme?” It came out sounding sullen though he had meant it to be teasing.

“Tch. Dobe.” The disdain was dripping from his voice. Mocking settings set to max. “Did you forget that we’ve been trying to kill each other?”

Naruto pressed his face into Sasuke’s neck. “All I’ve ever wanted was just to be close to you… Won’t you let me?”

The Uchiha gripped his mesh shirt with an exhalation that was just short of a scream. When he spoke though, his voice was calm.

“I don’t understand you. You come after me, over and… over and… over and… over and…” with each repetition his voice was rising in volume and frustration, “over and over and over and over again!” With the last word, he punched Naruto in the chest.

He must have been recovering some too, because there was enough force behind the blow to knock the breath out of Naruto’s lungs.

Sasuke continued his voice ragged. “Just leave me alone or let me cut you down!”

Naruto laughed softly as he tightened his arms around the other boy. He couldn’t resist throwing Sasuke’s own words back at him. “I can’t do that. ‘Cuz I’m your one and only friend!”

Sasuke took in a deep breath sharply, clearly irritated beyond all tolerance.

With no follow up immediately forthcoming, Naruto settled into the hug, nuzzling slightly into Sasuke’s neck. Maybe it was because Kurama was so close to the surface but he couldn’t help that notice that the nin smelt _so good_.

And without thinking much about it, he gave into the urge to press his lips against the other teen’s still racing pulse.

The reaction was immediate as Sasuke shoved him away sharply and promptly fell on his ass with a splash.

The Uchiha regarded him from the ground with wide, shocked eyes.

“Did you just-?” Sasuke’s face twisted for a moment into an indecipherable expression, then to Naruto’s surprise, the teen started to laugh.

He felt his face flush wildly. “Teme-”

His friend coughed a few times and stopped laughing, though his voice was still amused. “So that’s how it is, Dobe?” His eyes sharpened suddenly and Naruto felt a little thrill. “I guess that means I just won.”

The Jinchuuriki stared, momentarily struck dumb, before he sputtered indignantly. “Wha-? You’re so crazy! You can’t just decide that!”

“Whatever, idiot.” Sasuke sighed, sounding exasperated again. He combed a hand through his hair and shook his head. “You’re ridiculous, you know? Always preaching about how I’m ‘your friend’… You _like_ me.”

Staring at his friend for a moment in confusion, he finally pulled together a response.

“Did you get punched in the head too many times?” Naruto asked incredulously. “Of course I like you! You’re my best friend!”

Sasuke actually rolled his eyes at him. “Idiot. Not like that. You shouldn’t want to kiss your best friend.”

Naruto felt his face heat up, sure he probably looked like a tomato. When he spoke his voice was weak with embarrassment. “That was…”

His friend interrupted him briskly. “It’s fine.”

The dark-haired teen tilted his head and regarded him with another look he couldn’t quite interpret, but something about it sent a shiver up his spine.

“It just means that I don’t need to fight you anymore.” the Uchiha drawled.

Sasuke’s eyes were sharp enough to cut steel. “I know how to handle people that want me like that.”

Naruto felt completely flustered, and utterly horrified as he stared at the other teen, like a rabbit before a predator.

He wasn’t even sure he knew exactly what Sasuke meant but it felt like his thoughts were flying through his head at a thousand miles a minute.

 _Like_ him? _Want_ him? Did he mean ‘like’ as in going on dates and getting married?

Naruto couldn’t even imagine Sasuke on a date or getting married to _anyone_.

He shook his head in confusion.

_It wasn’t like that._

He just wanted to be a part of Sasuke’s life, and be close to him, and maybe hug him some more, and maybe-

Kurama interrupted his train of thought with a growl. “ _Are you really this dense? You’ve probably been in love with this bitch since the first time he condescended to talk to you._ ”

In their shared mental space, Naruto sputtered incoherently before finally yelling, “ _Kurama! What the hell?! There were so many things wrong with what you just said!_ ”

The fox rolled his eyes dramatically. “ _So you’re going to deny it then?_ ”

“ _First of all! He didn’t say anything about l-love, you damn, dirty fox! He said like! And I guess maybe I-_ ” he cut himself off.

 _Huh._ Maybe he did like the bastard.

It made a certain kinda strange sense. After all he had spent the last four years of his life looking for Sasuke and training to bring him home. Recently it had become clear that he cared more about saving their friend than Sakura, someone who had been claiming to like the Uchiha for years.

Kurama scoffed. “ _You realize it probably looks like you’ve been hit in the head? Bet you’re just staring off into space with a really stupid look on your face._ ”

The Uzumaki shrieked in response, pointing dramatically. “ _Seriously Kurama? What the hell? You’re the one talking to me! But forget that, since when do you go around calling Sasuke a bitch?!_ ”

“ _Tch. Since that Bitch decided he would use his doujutsu to control me is when.”_ He growled threateningly _. “Besides, what else would you call him? Throwing such a dramatic tantrum and then dropping it just like that? After going so far_?”

Apparently feeling that his points were irrefutable, the fox laid his head down on folded forelimbs and closed his eyes like he planned to go to sleep.

“ _I can’t even deal with you right now!_ ” Naruto threw his hands up in frustration and dropped out of the mental space to look back at Sasuke.

The fair nin was still sitting with his ass in the shallow water and the sun had set.

He actually looked fairly relaxed in the dark.

Leaning his weight back on hands resting on the ground behind him, Sasuke tilted his head back, dark eyes hooded as he regarded Naruto.

“Done arguing with your pet fox?” he drawled.

The Jinchuuriki’s mouth dropped open in shock and Kurama couldn’t resist piping in again. “ _See what I mean? Bitch_.” 

Naruto choked. “Did you peek?”

Sasuke looked at him like he was the stupidest thing on the planet and leaned forward, “What? On your conversation?” He gestured to his dark eyes. “Does it look like I have enough chakra to use the Sharingan?”

“How did you know then?” he grumbled sullenly, relief and irritation mingling. He was glad that the nin wasn’t a witness to such an embarrassing exchange, but the guy didn’t have to be such a dick about pointing it out.

The Uchiha deadpanned. “Even you aren’t stupid enough to stare off into space for that long for no reason.”

Hmm… Maybe Kurama did have a point about him being a bitch...

But Sasuke’s inability to stop being a jerk aside, his friend wasn’t trying to kill him anymore. He couldn’t freak out over something so minor.

Naruto cleared his throat. “So… if we’re not fighting anymore… What now?”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed and suddenly he felt like he was being weighed and measured.

The other teen sighed. “That depends on how much you plan to get in my way. So here’s your chance. I’m listening now, so convince me you’re not just being sentimental. Why not kill the Kage?”

He took a deep breath. _Shit._ He’d probably only get one chance at this. He had to think tactical. No emotional appeals.

Naruto met Sasuke’s intense gaze.

“Before I can answer that question, you have to tell me, Sasuke. You say you want to ‘sear away the darkness’, but is this all still about revenge? Or do you really want to change things?”

It was a risk to push him, but the Konoha nin felt that they had to get all of this straight right now for this tentative peace between them to work.

A thoughtful look crossed the Uchiha’s face and after a few moments he responded.

“I would have to say that my revenge will play a part in my plan, but it doesn’t account for the whole of it. Not really. I still plan to kill the remaining members of the Konoha Council that were part of the decision to massacre my family...” Sasuke paused as if to consider his next words.

“The rest of my plan though, I’d like to think, is inspired by my brother’s ideals. Itachi shared the vision of the previous Hokage. He saw the village system as the best way to protect the people. So ultimately that was his highest aim.”

He looked at the ground briefly before looking back at Naruto and continuing.

“With everything that I know now, I feel that it’s my responsibility to pursue peace in my brother’s name. I think that the villages have failed the people and that my brother’s method of working outside of the system will be the most effective way to change things.”

Naruto blew out all the air in his lungs and scrubbed his hands through his sweaty hair before glancing back at Sasuke. “I don’t have a problem with you killing the Council members.”

At the Uchiha’s dubious expression, he rushed to explain, “Normally I only like killing as the absolute last resort, but… Shit, Sasuke. When Obito told us what happened… that Konoha was responsible for what happened to your family…” Naruto’s face twisted and he had to take a breath before he could meet the other’s eyes again.

Looking at the blank expression on his dear friend’s face he felt his resolve firm.

“Yeah. I definitely think killing them is fair.”

Sasuke didn’t respond verbally, but he tilted his head in acknowledgement and then looked at Naruto expectantly.

The intensity of those dark eyes made him sorta nervous in a way Naruto wasn’t used to.

“So um, the Kage, right?”

His friend made an impatient gesture for him to go on and the Jinchuuriki swallowed in discomfort.

“Okay… I guess… Would killing them really accomplish what you want?” The blond teen couldn’t help but grimace as he thought of the perfect example. “I mean, Orochimaru killed Sandaime-jii-chan and what did it really change? They had like three people lined up to replace him.”

Naruto licked his lips nervously. It seemed like Sasuke was still listening so he went on. “If you think about it, the Kage are the leaders of the villages, but are they really in charge?”

He felt himself warming to the topic and he continued more quickly. “You weren’t there to see it, but Tsunade-baa-chan was always fighting with those old councilors and it seemed like she hardly ever got to do everything she wanted.”

The other teen’s eyes narrowed and he looked like he was trying to decide if he was insulted that Naruto felt the need to remind him of his absence.

But it seemed that rather than being offended, he settled on taking the point with a nod.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief at the passing of the tense moment. “So the real question is, who’s in charge of the Kage? I mean, if we really do _need_ to kill someone to make changes, why not aim for who matters the most?”

He looked at his friend expectantly, trying to gauge his reaction to the argument.

Sasuke looked up at the dark sky. “Hn.”

Naruto rolled his eyes and sat down with a huff. _Typical_.

As the minutes stretched out, Naruto watched his friend’s face as he stared at the stars.

Kurama commented in an amused tone, “ _I think you surprised him. He’s not used to you coming up with sensible points._ ”

The Jinchuuriki stuck out his tongue in irritation. _Stupid fox_.

Suddenly Sasuke let out a huff that sounded suspiciously like a laugh and Naruto’s eyes popped open to look back at him.

He looked slightly fond, “Your tenant bothering you again?”

For some reason, Naruto’s face heated up and he was grateful that the dark probably hid his blush. The bastard was just so damn pretty, even when his face was all messed up. “Hm. Yeah.”

The silence stretched again, but this time Naruto was much less comfortable with it and decided to break it.

“So…?”

The Uchiha hummed, his voice is thoughtful when he spoke. “So you might actually have a point, Dobe.”

“Orochimaru styled himself the Otokage, and while Oto was hardly the standard village, what you said about Tsunade reminded me of some of the things I observed there.”

Morbidly curious to hear of his friend’s time in Oto, he leaned forward to see the other teen’s features better in the dark.

“The young Daimyo was always sickeningly subservient whenever he met with Orochimaru. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Orochimaru saved the Land of Rice Fields when it was on the brink of collapse, before renaming it and allowing the nobleman there to hold on to a fair semblance of power.” He paused there, and Naruto nodded his understanding.

“That said, there were rumors that the Daimyo of Oto had very different things to say in private. That the Sanin had no business dictating to a _Daimyo_. That it went against the natural order. That a Kage should know their place. At the time I dismissed it as the posturing of a weak, foolish coward. But now I have to wonder.” 

Naruto leaned his chin on his fist, elbow propped on his bent knee. “So you’re saying that maybe the Daimyo are really in charge of the villages?”

“I’m saying it’s likely. At least in the major villages.”

The Uzumaki jerked forward incredulously. “But that’s stupid! What does a fat, rich _civilian_ know about running a ninja village?”

Sasuke sighed and shifted to be more comfortable. “Maybe that’s why the whole system is so stupid? The Oto Daimyo is an idiot. If they’re all as self-centered and out of touch as he is, it would explain a lot.”

Naruto scratched the back of his head. “I’d kinda like to ask someone who would know for sure, ya know? It’s hard to plan the best thing to do without being sure. I mean what if threatening them would be enough, or better even? They probably have people lined up to take over if anything goes wrong, just like the Kage.”

The dark-haired nin’s voice was exasperated when he replied, “Doing things that way wastes the advantage that the Infinite Tsukuyomi gives us. That’s why I wanted to kill the Kage before releasing it, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”

Leave it to Sasuke to view such an extreme measure as a moderate solution.

“That’s just taking the easy way out, Teme! That’s the same kind of thinking that killed your family!”

Okay, so maybe comparing his friend to the people who killed his family wasn’t the best way to keep the peace.

Naruto couldn’t find it in himself to be surprised when Sasuke lunged at him, knocking him onto drier ground, and onto his back.

It had been kinda a low blow, so the Uzumaki didn’t attempt to fight back.

Again he found himself with a lap full of angry Uchiha, but this time Sasuke just grabbed him by his mesh shirt and pulled him up so their noses almost touched.

“You want to take that back?” he bit off each word, his voice low and dangerous.

Naruto looked to the side, the eye contact a little too intense. “That was over the line. I shouldn’t have said it that way.” He grabbed Sasuke’s hands, still fisted in his shirt. “But I’m not taking back the point. We should talk to people before we decide to kill them.”

He turned his gaze back to see the effect of his words and his friend’s face was still twisted in a dark scowl. He wanted Sasuke to see that he was sincere, but wasn’t going to back down, so he met the furious black stare with calm eyes and a blank expression.

It wasn’t long before the dark-haired nin shoved him hard, so his back hit the ground again. “Tch.”

Looking up at his angry friend, he wondered if he should keep pushing the point.

 _This was too important_.

He spoke softly, but quickly, trying his luck. “Can we agree to talk to, maybe threaten, people first? Then if someone becomes a serious problem for us, I won’t stop you. But I need a say in when that happens.”

Sasuke made an irritated noise and dragged a hand through his hair, pulling his bangs back from his face for a moment. The view was like a punch to the gut.

 _Damn_.

Suddenly he was hyper aware of the weight of his friend in his lap and held his breath for a moment, willing his body not to react to the resulting rush of excitement. This was _not_ the time.

He needed a distraction desperately.

 _Act casual_.

“Come on, Teme. You know we’re an awesome team. We can get out of any situation together and avoid killing people we don’t need to.” He thought he succeeded in sounding nonchalant, his tone playful, even if it started out a little rough.

The Uchiha stared at him for what felt like an entire minute as Naruto sweated, until suddenly his expression shifted into the most stupidly sexy smirk. “I guess we do fight almost as well together as we do against each other.”

His mouth went bone-dry and he swallowed thickly.

“Hahaha… Yeah…” His voice sounded _way_ too nervous. _He was such a dork_.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side and looked down at Naruto sharply.

“You seem distracted. Is something wrong, Na-ru-to?” his voice was a mocking drawl that brimmed with disdain.

The blond teen flushed wildly, “Uh, well, you see…”

His friend raised a brow waiting for him to continue. _Stupid bastard_. He probably knew exactly what was distracting him.

He cleared his throat, “W-we’re not fighting anymore and you, well you’re sitting…”

“Me sitting here is distracting?” and the bastard _wiggled_. Naruto choked on an unexpected moan, but Sasuke quickly rolled off him.

“Funny.” The fair teen deadpanned. “I didn’t find that stimulating in the least.”

He sputtered incoherently for a moment, for some reason incredibly offended. “What the fuck was that about then, Teme?” the Jinchuuriki snarled.

“I was just confirming my theory.” The dick sounded bored beyond belief.

“Well, confirm your theories on someone else’s lap!” he shot back.

Sasuke snorted rudely. “Well that would hardly prove anything about _you_ , would it?” He leaned back with his hands resting on the ground behind him and gave him that intense look from before. “But then again, if that’s what you want, would you watch while I confirm my theory on someone else’s lap?”

Naruto felt his jaw drop in shock and he looked at his friend like he’d never seen him before.

“W-what the _actual_ fuck, Teme?! Since when do you say perverted shit like that?”

Sasuke treated him to a look that made him feel like a bug on a pin.

“You don’t actually know me very well, Dobe.”

And for some reason that _hurt_.

He looked away, unable to keep eye contact with the Uchiha.

“Hm. I guess you’re right.” His voice was despondent as he ran his hand through the dirt beside him, picking at busted up rocks. Naruto knew he probably sounded pathetic just then, but he was too stung to care and doubted that Sasuke cared about his feelings anyway.

But he was curious. The way his friend had reacted didn’t match what he had said before.

“Hey, Teme…” The other teen grunted and he took it as a go ahead.

He turned to look back at Sasuke. “Earlier you said that it was fine if I like you… So why did you get so mad?” He kept his voice is soft, like he was talking to a wild animal.

The other nin’s expression didn’t give him anything. “I just meant that I won’t kill you or stop associating with you because you’re attracted to me. I’ve worked with people with similar inclinations in the past. It’s a weakness for me to exploit.”

Irritation crept onto Sasuke’s face. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t beyond obnoxious when you get distracted by my body in the middle of a conversation. I’ll never understand it. Is it something about me specifically or do people like you just get worked up by any mildly attractive person?”

Now he was just offended again.

He was practically growling when he spoke, “Seriously, Teme? Have you even looked in a fuckin’ mirror in the last four years? You’re prettier than most girls I know, and that’s after I beat half your face in!”

As agitated as he was, he stopped short at the strange look on Sasuke’s face.

“You mean you were actually serious?” Naruto’s voice was high with incredulousness and his face was probably a match to the confused look Sasuke was giving him.

The Uchiha schooled his expression, his dark eyes cold as he spoke, “My best guess has always been that people reacted that way because of my bloodline or my strength.”

Naruto felt kinda speechless, but at the same time felt like he should reassure his friend for some weird reason. He was pretty sure it would just piss the bastard off if he was nice about it, so he aimed for insulting.

“Obviously you’re the full package, Teme.” He rolled his eyes, his tone mocking, “Have some pity on us mere mortals will you? Not all of us can be super gorgeous, strong, and smart, with a killer bloodline.” He backed it up with a condescending shrug, hands spread.

For a moment he wasn’t sure of the reception as the other teen still looked mostly blank, but then Sasuke’s lips quirked up just a little.

“So does that make you mediocre in looks, strength, brains, and lineage?” the bastard looked way too pleased with himself.

“ _Ouch_ , Teme. Can’t take a compliment much? That’s not even funny. You know that shit isn’t true!” Outwardly he acted irritated, but he was relieved that the weird tension between them had dissipated.

Kurama harrumphed, “ _If you’re done arguing with your bitch, I think you’re forgetting something important._ ”

Naruto glared at the fox, hands on his hips. “ _You just said it that way because Sasuke-!_ ” He paused and tilted his head as he registered the other part of what Kurama said.

The Kyuubi sneered, “ _You remember who else the Uchiha was planning to kill now?_ ”

 _Oh Shit_.

He snapped back to the outside world with a start.

Sasuke was looking at him like he was one of Orochimaru’s experiments.

A nervous laugh made its way past his lips without his permission. “Uh, did I miss something?”

He must have with the way the other teen was looking at him. Naruto kinda expected him to act irritated or to make fun of him more, but was surprised when that didn’t happen.

Instead the nin tilted his head slightly, considering.

“Did you always use to do that so often?”

He gave his friend wide eyes for a moment before answering. “What? Talk to Kurama?” The Uzumaki looked down and picked at a hole near the knee of his pants. “Hm… not so much. He didn’t really talk to me until after-” _That time_ _I thought you died saving me_ … “Uh, a couple years ago.” He finished lamely. “But-! We made friends not too long ago and he’s really important to me!”

Sasuke examined his face for a minute and his eyes felt so sharp that Naruto wondered if he could see right through him, even without the Sharingan.

The Uchiha looked thoughtful but his tone was snide when he spoke. “I still can’t believe you call _it_ by name.”

“Tch, Teme. He’s not an _it_. He’s a guy and a person! Just a really large, chakra beast, person!”

All he got in response was a dubiously look as the bastard deadpanned, “Right.”

Rather than getting further worked up, the Jinchuuriki decided to take the opportunity to push his agenda while they were on the subject of his Bijuu.

He kept his tone tentative. “So, Sasuke… since you’ve apparently decided to keep me around… does that mean you’ll leave the Bijuu alone?”

Dark eyes narrowed sharply and suddenly the Uchiha was like a coiled spring.

He drawled, “Well now that is a conflict of interest…”

Naruto jumped up and held his hands out in front of him.

“Whoa, whoa, Teme! This is still a _conversation_ , right?”

The tension was still there, but some of the imminent threat leaked out of his friend’s frame and the dark-haired nin treated him to a look that made the Uzumaki’s face heat inexplicably.

“ _Convince_ me.”

Something about the other teen’s tone sent a thrill up his spine. _Did he mean to sound so-_ Naruto shook his head hard and decided to take the words at face value.

“Earlier I said they wouldn’t make trouble because of me, but that wasn’t enough to convince you before. What kind of threat do you think the Bijuu pose? The Gedo Statue was sealed with Kaguya and you’re probably the only one with the Rinnegan now so we shouldn’t have to worry about the Juubi.”

If Sasuke was irritated that he had asked another question, rather than getting right to his argument, he didn’t show it. The Uchiha reminded Naruto of a lazy predator, the way that he was almost lounging in front of him. Seemingly relaxed but with so much deadly potential.

“They pose the same threat they always have. Even singly, they’re powerful weapons. I’m not one to leave tools lying around for my enemies to pick up and use against me.” His tone was a bored drawl, as if this was all too obvious and he couldn’t believe he had to explain it. “And don’t try to tell me they can take care of themselves. The Akatsuki demonstrated that a few above-average nin can take on a Bijuu with the right tactics.”

 _Well shit_.

Naruto found himself having a hard time coming up with a counter to that.

“Um, I could learn my Dad’s Hiraishin-thingy-”

The Uchiha cut him off sharply, “So how long have you been studying space-time jutsu?” When his only immediate answer was a grimace, his friend rolled his eyes. “That’s what I thought.”

“Seriously though, Teme, when I use my bunshin to train I learn stupid fast.” He gestured with a thumb to his chest. “I created a new jutsu in about a week!”

Sasuke mumbled something that sounded like, ‘the _stupid_ part I believe’ before he spoke up. “That’s a backup plan at best, and a poor one at that. You still need to give me something relatively feasible.”

His stomach dropped at the other’s words and the Jinchuuriki sobered immediately.

He looked at Sasuke with a wretched expression on his face. “Are you really going to kill me because you’re not willing to take a risk? After we already came to an understanding, Teme?”

Naruto tried to pretend that his heart wasn’t breaking a little at the blank look he received in return.

But something in his friend’s eyes encouraged him to keep pushing.

“Look,” he said with a bit more energy, “Chances are, we just took on the biggest baddies we’re likely to encounter for a long time. I think you were right before. You and me, we might be the strongest people alive right now.”

The blond nin ran a hand through his hair and started pacing, thinking while he talked. “The war changed a lot of things. The Akatsuki have been completely devastated. They were on their last legs before, right? I mean, how many S-ranked nin on that level are there in the entire world?”

Stopping, he turned back to Sasuke. “Yeah, people are going to try for the Bijuu, but most of ‘em are gonna get squashed! Besides, now they can communicate with each other and me through our connection. So how about if I tell them to stay close and they tell me if there’s something they can’t handle among themselves? Then me, or you, or both of us can rush in and save the day!”

By the end of his declaration, Naruto was a little out of breath and his friend had a brow raised.

The other teen gestured to himself, “Do I look like a ‘save the day’ type?”

Irritated and incredulous, he snapped back, “Shut up, Teme! What the fuck do you think that was earlier with Madara and Kaguya?”

In response the bastard just huffed and shrugged.

Naruto muttered trying to resist an outright pout, “Tch. You’ve always been that ‘super cool’ – ‘saves the day’ – ‘hero’ type, Teme. It’s one of the things that I always hated about you.”

He pointed dramatically right in the asshole’s face, “And maybe I will start studying space-time jutsu!”

Said asshole actually snorted, covering his mouth with one hand, his voice coming muffled. “I can hardly believe you sometimes, Dobe…”

The Uchiha dropped his hand and straightened up. “So that’s your answer? We’ll deal with it later?”

Naruto crossed his arms. “Oh because, killing someone because they’re _inconvenient_ – and you can’t be bothered to think up something better – is a great plan?”

There was an amused tilt to Sasuke’s eyes as he deadpanned, “Hn. It’s definitely tempting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like most fans, I had lots of feels when Shippuden ended. In particular, I was really bothered by Naruto’s responses to Sasuke during their final battle. They were beyond lacking and completely unsatisfying. 
> 
> Sasuke is a pretty independent thinker and he’s particularly eloquent and almost poetic during this fight. Naruto on the other hand, normally the king of Talk no Jutsu, relies constantly on thoughtless, childish retorts. Yet somehow he miraculously manages to brainwash Sasuke into giving up his ideals by the end of the fight. 
> 
> I find Sasuke’s transformation from a fiery revolutionary to someone barely surviving the crushing weight of guilt to be difficult to swallow. Personally, I don’t think that Sasuke really has much to atone for. Everything that we see Sasuke do in canon is reasonable for his unreasonable circumstances. 
> 
> If you haven’t read my one-shot “Progress”, which I’ve adopted into this AU, and would like some context, go ahead and head on over. Just make sure to read the tags because it has some intense content.
> 
> I’ve always had a headcanon of Sasuke as asexual, but I also think he’s the type of person not to care much about what happens to his body. We see this when he says he doesn’t care if Orochimaru wants his body as long as he can achieve his goals. That said, my Sasuke is probably more grey-ace. He can find some enjoyment in sex, he’ll just never seek it out of his own desire, without another motivation.
> 
> So what do you guys think? I’d love your input!


	2. This World is Gonna Burn; Burn, Burn, Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Raikage’s name is a pain… I decided on “Ei” as the spelling here because “A” and “Ay” looked funky in the middle of text. 
> 
> The chapter title comes from the song “Dark Doo Wop” by MS MR.

* * *

Naruto crossed his arms. “Oh because, killing someone because they’re  _inconvenient_  – and you can’t be bothered to think up something better – is a great plan?”

There was an amused tilt to Sasuke’s eyes as he deadpanned, “Hn. It’s definitely tempting.”

* * *

The Jinchuuriki let out an indignant squawk, unable to control the involuntary response.

It was too easy to fall into old habits with Sasuke. Though his threats had a little more bite and realism to them than Naruto was used to, the teasing was reassuringly familiar.  

Rather than further engaging his rival, he tousled a hand through his hair and pushed down his irritation with a sigh.

“But seriously, Teme. What are you going to do?”

For a minute or two all he received in answer was an indecipherable look. He imagined that by now the asshole must be doing it to let the tension stretch.

Finally Sasuke spoke, voice thoughtful. “I didn’t understand your actions before. Why you would go so far for me… It made you too unpredictable.”

Eyelids slipped down over dark irises and his friend regarded him with hooded eyes. “Things are quite different if I can be sure of you.”

Something about the dark-haired nin’s gaze made Naruto feel a bit like prey and he found that he had to suppress a shiver.

A few awkward moments later, the Uchiha continued briskly. “I accept your challenge. If the Bijuu will consent to staying close, I’ll abandon my plans to kill them for now and start working on a plan that doesn’t require your death.”

 _Ugh._ The bastard was so pompous.

Naruto couldn’t help but mock him.

He bowed in an elaborate and exaggerated way, “Oh, thank you, Your Majesty!”

Sasuke drawled disinterestedly, “Though, if you’re obnoxious enough, I might still change my mind…”

Heaving a sigh, the blond teen flopped down to sit on the ground near his friend. “You’re such an asshole. I don’t even know why I like you.”

Giving him an eloquent look, the other nin deadpanned, “I thought we established that it was because of my pretty face.”

Naruto shoved Sasuke’s shoulder, trying to suppress a blush.

“Shut up, Teme. I meant that I don’t know why I like _you_ , as in enjoying your company!”

The Uchiha looked at him like he was incredibly strange, then snorted.

“You’ve got some strange kinks, Dobe.”

Another incredibly offended noise burst out of the Uzumaki, but Sasuke interrupted him before he could voice an actual complaint.

“You realize that I’ve tried to kill you pretty much every time I’ve seen you in the last few years? How is it you can say you enjoy my company? Do you have a death wish, dumbass?” Despite his friend’s mocking tone, Naruto got the impression that he was expecting some kind of explanation or retraction.

He looked away, feeling embarrassed. “It’s not like that… I mean, I guess it’s like when were kids. We never talked but I always felt like we had a connection, ya know? We were both all alone in the world. Just you being there, going through some of the same things, made everything feel easier…”

When he didn’t receive a response immediately, Naruto glanced back up. The other teen was regarding him with a pensive expression.

After a few minutes of eye contact, during which the Jinchuuriki genuinely tried to become a mind reader, Sasuke hummed softly and turned his gaze to the stars.

The Uzumaki felt himself slump, not realizing how tense he had been until the staring contest had ended. He hadn’t known what to make of Sasuke’s reaction.

Maybe his friend was right, and he didn’t know him very well. He seemed so on edge, and so _dangerous_.

Still, as Naruto examined the Uchiha’s fine features, watching for hints of what he might be thinking, he couldn’t deny that he still felt that old pull. That yearning that cried, ‘ _Let me in. Look at me. Acknowledge me_.’

If anything, the new edge added another level of attraction. What had seemed like arrogance when they were younger, now was just modest self-assurance. This was a man that commanded respect and could make any enemy pause.

The sound of Kurama gagging echoed through his head and Naruto turned his attention inward to glare at the Bijuu, “ _Got some kind of problem, asshole?_ ”

Reclined with his head propped on a fisted forepaw, the fox sneered. “ _Tch. I forgot how insufferable teenagers could be._ ” He put on a high voice, “ _He’s so dreamy!_ ” His voice dropped back down to his normal register. “ _Blech. Don’t make me vomit. I thought Kushina was bad._ ”

Face catching fire, the blond teen sputtered incoherently for a few moments. “ _I wasn’t- It’s not- S-shut up, stupid fox!_ ”

“ _Humph. I’ll shut up when you stop mooning like a little girl. It’s embarrassing_.”

Stung, Naruto snapped back without much thought, “ _You’re embarrassing, you grumpy jerk! I don’t have to listen to this!_ ”

Kurama rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “ _Good one, Brat. Unfortunately I do have to listen this. Try to keep that in mind, yeah?_ ”

After blowing out a large puff of air, the Uzumaki muttered, “Whatever, stupid fox.”

Sasuke shifted to look at him quizzically and he realized he spoke that last out loud.

He scratched the back of his head, “Haha, sorry. Just having a disagreement with Kurama. Nothing important, really.”

The other snorted. “Having a commentator must be a real trial for an Usuratonkachi like you.”

“Tch. Really? You too, Teme?” Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Smirking briefly in response, the dark-haired teen turned away again, apparently planning to keep sitting in silence.

Curious, the blond couldn’t help but ask, “Ryō for your thoughts?”

His friend huffed softly before shifting to face him again. “Just trying to figure out if it’s really possible to accomplish what I want diplomatically.”

The nin paused briefly before listing off questions, rapid fire. “Should we try to get the Kage to work with us or should we just call it a lost cause and aim straight for their superiors? How do I confirm that the Daimyo are those superiors? How loyal to the Daimyo are the Kage? Will this end in us fighting them anyway, having lost the chance to take them out without excess casualties?”

Naruto crossed his arms and tried to look reliable and intelligent, his eyes scrunching. “Hm… Well, I think we should definitely talk to the Kage. They’ll listen to me.”

Sasuke looked a little exasperated. “I seriously doubt you have that kind of influence on them. You do realize I attacked the Kage Summit, right? The Raikage is a particularly special friend.”

Cringing as he recalled the man’s harsh words when he had pleaded for Sasuke before, the blond teen couldn’t immediately think of a way to respond. And that had been before Ei had lost an arm fighting the Uchiha.

“Ha, yeah that guy’s gonna be a hard sell for sure…” Staring at the ground for a moment he wracked his brain.

After going over the memory more carefully, his head snapped up. “We just have to come at them from a position of strength! Not give them a chance to freak out. The Kage all respect strength and we have plenty of that!”

The other teen’s expression was dubious. “If you’re talking about attacking them, that’s hardly diplomatic, Dobe.”

“I don’t mean attack them exactly, we just have to set things up right.” The Jinchuuriki gestured excitedly, “Take away their options, or make them hesitate. They know me. They’ll listen to me if I have a chance to talk. Knowing you fought on our side in the war should have made some of them reconsider their opinion of you too, Tsunade-baa-chan and Gaara for sure!”

“Did you have something in mind or are you looking for me to fill in the blanks?” His friend’s eyes were sharp and considering.

“Hm, well, we could have them follow me to one of the field tents! And you could be there waiting!” he paused, brain catching up with his mouth. “Uh… huh. That might look like some kind of ambush… that could just end in them attacking you…”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but Naruto continued before he could comment.

“So we meet them together! I’ll explain things a bit first and then you can explain the strategy or something.” He looked expectantly at his friend feeling like it could work.

The dark-haired nin regarded him blankly for a few moments before sighing and running a hand through his bangs. “I almost forgot how much I hate your plans…”

A dismayed sound left Naruto’s mouth. “Don’t be like that, Teme…”

Releasing an aggravated breath, Sasuke shifted to face him more fully. “There are way too many places a plan like that could go wrong, Idiot. Say they’re feeling rational today, say they don’t decide to attack me on sight… Regardless of how you frame it, why would they go along with a plan coming from two teenagers?”

The Uchiha leaned forward, voice becoming more passionate, “Even then, how do we know they even _want_ things to change? Things look different when you’re at the top. What do they care about a few orphans? What do they care about the fate of those with kekkei genkai, other than whether or not they can be useful?”

Wanting his friend to see that he was taking his concerns seriously, Naruto solemnly met his friend’s fierce eyes. “I’ll admit that I don’t know much about what the Tsuchikage or the Raikage want… But I feel like I can speak for the other three with confidence.”

Dark eyes narrowed and the other teen tilted his head. After a moment he gestured with his hand, unspoken command clear.

 _Convince me_.

Nodding once, Naruto gathered his thoughts before beginning.

“Of the three, I’ll start with the one I know the least, the Mizukage. She’s been fighting to change Kiri since long before she was a Kage.” He paused, trying to think of some actual evidence.

“Um, her people all seemed to really respect her and it sounds like they’ve already stopped some of the things that made their village a really messed up place before. I think we can count on the Mizukage.”

Feeling a bit more confident with the lack of interruption, he continued, “Next, you know that Gaara is the Kazekage. I can tell you that he’ll support us because he’s my friend.”

The dark-haired nin released an irritated sigh and Naruto was quick to add, “I know that he wants the same things we want. Gaara knows the darkness of the villages, just like we do, and he’s been working on making Suna a better place for a while now too.”

He paused, waiting to see if Sasuke would object, and was gratified when the other teen kept his silence.

“Finally, we have Tsunade-baa-chan. Your original plan didn’t take into account the type of person she is!”

The Konoha nin leaned into the Uchiha’s space, desperate to make his point.

“I don’t know if you know this, but she never listed you as a missing nin. That didn’t happen until Danzo took over and you fought Killer Bee. Baa-chan is our most certain ally.”

He pointed at his friend for emphasis, “If you approached her by yourself she would probably listen to you. Sure, she would fight to protect Konoha, but she doesn’t give a crap about the guys in charge. If we don’t threaten the people, she won’t stand in our way.”

The Uchiha still looked dubious, so Naruto persisted, “Come on Sasuke. Give them a chance! Worst case scenario, I really don’t think Gaara or Tsunade-baa-chan will want to fight both of us. Baa-chan even stood against the Raikage for me!”

He scratched his cheek, giving in to the need to fidget.

“Look, even if it ends up that they don’t want to help us, we would be able to get away and rethink things. But I seriously doubt it would come to that! Most likely they’ll be allies. I would be surprised if everyone else but the Raikage were any worse than neutral-”

“Tch.” The Uchiha made an impatient gesture, cutting off further discussion, “You’re so naïve, Dobe. This is serious treason we’re talking about here. It not going to be as simple as you’re making it out to be. And I won’t accept anything short of complete reorganization. That won’t sit well with any Kage.”

Naruto grit his teeth, trying not to give into frustration, knowing he’d lose the argument if he let that happen.

He released a burst of breath, his voice coming low, “You’re so fucking extreme, Sasuke. You really need to outline your entire plan for them like you did with me? Throw out some ultimatums like some kinda villain?”

Scoffing while the other nin glared, the blond teen pushed his point. “Yeah, that works if you’re trying to pick a fight, asshole. So we just tell them what we need to, get them to side with us against the Daimyo or whoever, and then go from there.”

Obviously irritated by Naruto’s mocking tone, the heat of Sasuke’s stare was so intense the Jinchuuriki was surprised that his skin didn’t blister and peel.

Not backing down, Naruto met his friend’s displeasure with his own and they engaged in another staring contest that lasted several minutes.

A sudden shower of gravel spilled down the valley wall behind them and they both tensed.

Before Naruto knew exactly what was happening, the dark-haired nin had grabbed a fist full of his shirt and a wave of dizziness washed over him as he felt what little chakra Kurama had managed to infuse for him drain away.

He hissed a curse at the Uchiha who now had his Sharingan and Rinnegan active. “The fuck, Teme?”

Sasuke snapped back, his voice just audible, “Shut up, Idiot. I needed to see, you had the chakra. Not all of us have fucking Bijuu batteries…” he paused his eyes flicking along the edge above them.

After a moment the tension drained out of his friend.

The chakra thief muttered, “Fucking Sakura and Kakashi. They’re hovering. Probably trying to decide if we’ve killed each other.”

Jumping up, the Uzumaki shouted, “Oi, guys! Stop being dorks! We’re down here!”

He received a muffled sob in reply, then there was another fall of rocks and his two teammates landed a few feet away.

Both Sakura and Kakashi’s faces were grimmer than the teen expected and he was taken aback.

His sensei was the one that spoke, his voice sharp. “Sasuke, are you still our enemy?”

Naruto’s eyes snapped to the dark-haired nin.

His friend was reclining casually, seemingly unconcerned. He tilted his head back, heterochromatic eyes narrowing, face otherwise blank.

“Do you really think we’d both still be alive if nothing had changed?” Disdain dripped from the Uchiha’s voice and if anything the tension ratcheted up more.

The Uzumaki shifted himself to stand more directly between the three of them, hands outstretched in a placating manner. “The bastard may not have a civil bone in his body, but he’s right, ya know? We’re figuring things out. We’re cool, guys, really.”

A stony silence stretched between them for a few moments, before Sakura’s voice came tentatively, “What exactly does that mean, Naruto…?”

Still on guard, he fought the urge to make a nervous gesture. “I convinced Sasuke that we should work together.”

The kunoichi made a quiet exasperated noise. “Why are you-? That doesn’t explain anything! Work together on what? Is he coming back to the village?” Sasuke snorted rudely in response to her last question.

Kakashi remained watchful while she spoke, narrowed eyes glued to the Uchiha.

This was going poorly. Naruto should have anticipated their animosity.

That last betrayal, right when they thought the war was over, had almost been too much to bear.

He knew he had to find a way to fix this before Sasuke lost his patience with the situation. If that asshole started talking they'd _really_ be screwed.

The blond nin felt oddly grateful in that moment for his friend’s lack of caring towards the rest of Team 7.

“Can you two relax for a minute? Sasuke wanted revolution because the shinobi world is fucked, and sure, his methods were messed up, but he’s right that there’s a problem!”

His two teammates seemed a bit taken aback. Maybe they were having trouble with the idea that he and his rival could agree on something.

“We want a lot of the same things, it just took a bit of punching for us to start working it out.” Sasuke made another rude noise and he glanced back at the other teen.

His friend gestured for him to continue with a mocking smirk.

The Jinchuuriki scrubbed a hand through his hair in agitation. Stupid bastard. This was hard enough without his attitude.

“Look. Sakura-chan, Kaka-sensei, the war made it clear that Sasuke and I are likely the strongest shinobi alive. If we don’t use that power to help everyone, what kind of people does that make us?”

Straightening, Kakashi regarded him thoughtfully. “What exactly are you proposing, Naruto?”

The teen breathed a small sigh of relief. If he could get the Jounin to listen to him, he was sure Sakura would follow his lead.

“I convinced Sasuke that we should try talking to people. The way things work does need to change. I don’t think the Kage are the problem. I think we need to go after who’s really in charge.”

Silver brows shot up in surprise, “The Daimyo?”

A pleased noise came from the dark-haired nin behind him. “So we were right. The Daimyo pull the strings?”

Kakashi’s grey eyes switched between Naruto and Sasuke, the former copy nin’s air calculating, while their pink-haired teammate looked distinctly uncomfortable.

After some thought, his sensei seemed to come to a decision.

Adopting a lazy posture, Kakashi drawled, “Maa, you could say that… The Daimyo are a major source of income for the villages. If a Kage alienates their nation’s Daimyo they risk those funds going to another village or mercenaries like the Akatsuki. Most villages also have a council that the Kage must answer to as well.”

That sounded less straightforward than the Jinchuuriki had been hoping. “So… Which one is more of a problem if a Kage wants to change things? The Daimyo or the Council?”

With a thoughtful hum, the silver-haired nin crossed his arms. “That depends on a number of things. It can vary from village to village as well as on the type of change desired. In general though, for major things like alliances and wars, the Daimyo have the most influence. For smaller details of how a village is run internally, the council tends to dictate what is decided.”

The Jounin paused to as if to give his next statement more weight, “Where it gets muddied is the fact that the Daimyo also have a large say in who gets appointed to the council, as well as the position of Kage.”

Sasuke broke the silence that followed that statement. “I’m fairly certain Orochimaru charged the Oto Daimyo for his protection and ran his village without a council, just a constant stream of useful favorites. Is that something that could work in the bigger nations?”

Releasing a breath, Kakashi placed his hands in his pockets and looked up at the dark sky. “Hm. Well…”

After a beat he went on, “Not too long ago I would have told you no… But that was before the shinobi of the five great nations fought, died, and became comrades together on the battlefield. The risk of angering the Daimyo isn’t the same if the villages stand together.”

Naruto felt a rush of hope. “So you think we could really do it, Kaka-sensei? We just have to convince the Kage to side with us?”

The former ANBU Captain gave him a sharp look. “I doubt that will be as easy as you think, Naruto. Shinobi have owed fealty to the Daimyo for longer than there have been villages. Anyone of sufficient standing to become a Kage will have had that drilled into them since they were children. Tsunade-sama may be the only exception to that rule, as she doesn’t seem to care for bureaucracy or the nobility.”

Adjusting his mask, the man sighed. “Your only chance would be if you managed to convince them that launching a coup is the best option for the villages.”

Sakura spoke up tentatively, “But… Is it actually the best option? Won’t it just lead to more conflict?”

“Tch.” Sasuke’s disdain for the kunoichi was clear in his voice and she flinched at the sharp sound. “The Daimyo are useless fools. There’s much more risk if they continue to direct the activity of the shinobi villages. What’s to say they won’t wake up one morning and decide another war would be a good way to break up the tedium?”

“That’s not a bad argument, Sasuke-kun…” the Jounin’s voice was light and patronizing.

The dark-haired teen bristled and for a moment Naruto worried that violence is going to break out between them, but then the man continued, tone even. “I suppose one could say that the whims of the nobility caused the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars…”

After a beat, the tension drained out of his friend’s frame and the Jinchuuriki breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned his attention back to his sensei. “So could we argue that the Daimyo are a threat to the alliance? That if we allow them to keep running our villages, eventually they’ll pit us against each other?”

Kakashi regarded him with lazy eyes, “Some would argue that the purpose of Shinobi is to bring glory to the nobility. That we can’t understand honor without them.”

Naruto was almost overwhelmed by his incredulousness and Sasuke released a disgusted huff.

The Uzumaki grimaced. “There can’t seriously be people that believe that…”

“Maa…” The silver-haired nin drawled, “You two always seem to forget that Shinobi are meant to be emotionless tools. Sociopaths on the village’s leash.”

“But that’s not even true!” Naruto struggled to reign in his temper, fists clenching. “I’ve never met a single nin like that. Everyone is driven by their feelings and their pasts! That’s why the cycle of hatred has been so hard to break!”

The former copy nin made a thoughtful noise. “But none of us like to admit that. It’s much more comfortable to pretend we’re not capable of moral reasoning.”

Sasuke scoffed. “That sounds like an excuse to live without honor or responsibility. If the leaders of the villages are that delusional, maybe I should still put them out of their misery.”

“Seriously, Teme?” The blond nin felt like pulling his hair out as Kakashi gave the Uchiha a sharp look. “How do you expect them to trust you if you keep saying shit like that?”

Oddly enough the lounging teen looked somewhat pleased at Naruto’s statement. The bastard made so little sense.

The silver-haired Jounin seemed to draw some kind of conclusion from the exchange as well and his relaxed air returned.

Kakashi’s eyes curved in a smile and his tone was filled with cheerful scorn, “So dramatic, Sasuke-kun. Naruto’s right, you know. You’ll give the wrong impression talking like that…”

His only response from the dark-haired nin was a blank look that managed to be quite menacing.

Turning his attention back to the Uzumaki, all joking disappeared from the famous shinobi.

“Say I decide to go along with all this, can you actually control him? I’m not interested in standing by while the Kage walk into a trap.”

An aggravated noise left his friend at the man’s words but he otherwise didn’t comment.

Naruto glanced at the fair teen before turning back to his sensei. “We fought to a standstill. We’re too evenly matched for one of us to beat the other, not without some kind of advantage. So I was able to convince him that it would be more effective to work together.”

Turning to meet Sasuke’s bright gaze, he paused for a moment. “If he tries anything too crazy, I’ll stop him and he knows that. Right, Sasuke?”

He boldly stared into those deadly eyes, watching eyelids slip low as a considering expression crossed the Uchiha’s face.

With a vague affirmative hum, Sasuke’s attention shifted to Kakashi. “This Dobe actually had some good points. I’m going to try it his way for now, see what I can achieve diplomatically.”

The former ANBU Captain regarded the dark-haired nin suspiciously. “You’ll listen if Naruto tells you to stand down? Or is this going to turn into another fiasco like the Kage Summit?”

An incredibly irritated expression crossed the teen’s pale face. “Tch. Don’t make me repeat myself, Kakashi.” The man’s name sounded almost like a curse with the amount of venom in Sasuke’s voice.

Worried at the escalating tension between the two shinobi, Naruto cut in, “He’s listened to me so far! Even when I said some things that really pissed him off. I trust him to do what needs to be done.”

His sensei pinned him with a curiously sharp expression and the teen had to wonder what exactly he’d said to earn the look.

Finally the man spoke, “You won’t mind if I hold you responsible for his actions then?”

The Uzumaki held the Jounin’s intense gaze. “If Sasuke says he’ll do it my way, I trust him.”

Kakashi blew out a large breath, turning away and running a hand over his masked mouth.

“Fine.” The silver-haired nin sounded resigned. “What’s your plan for talking to the Kage? I know they’re together in one place right now, but I would recommend talking to them separately. Prioritize the ones that are most likely to side with you, like Tsunade-sama and the Kazekage.”

Before Naruto had a chance to respond, Sasuke cut in. “No.” The word was utterly implacable, tone icy.

“My plans are already being delayed. I need to know where we stand with the Kage _now_. I’m still not entirely convinced that they won’t still be an obstacle to us.”

When the Uchiha stopped speaking, the tension between the two former team members was almost unbearable.

Aiming to disrupt the hostile staring contest, Naruto spoke quickly, “I’m sure talking to them all together is fine! That way anyone that agrees with us can help us convince the others!”

He glanced between them, noting that his dark-haired friend’s mouth was curved in a slightly smug line, while his sensei just looked exasperated. Sakura stood awkwardly off to the side, clearly unsure if she wanted any part of this.

Pushing through the uncomfortable atmosphere, he continued. “We just want a chance to talk to them without anyone jumping to any conclusions. I was thinking we could have them meet us in one of the medical tents to give us some privacy. If you tell them that I want to talk with them when the Tsukuyomi is broken, we can set things up to give us the best chance to be heard out.”

Running a hand through silver spikes, the former copy nin sighed. “Hm… I can’t say I like your plan…” He glanced at Sasuke, his eyes narrowing. “But I guess it’s not your worst option either.”

The man pinned Naruto with an intense stare.

“Your word that you won’t let things get out of hand? You’ll stop him if he’s just trying to get at the Kage without you interfering?”

Letting all of his certainty rise to fill his face, the Uzumaki met his sensei’s demanding gaze.

“It’s not gonna come to that, but you have my word.” His voice was rough with feeling, ringing with conviction.

Kakashi eyes bore into him, but Naruto didn’t let it shake him.

After a minute or two the Jounin nodded sharply. “Alright. I’ll help you get your chance.” His grey eyes shifted to Sasuke who still hadn’t moved from where he was lounging on the ground. “Are you two in any kind of shape to head back towards the battlefield?”

The Jinchuuriki scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, I’m pretty much good. Kurama took care of the worst of it in the last couple hours…” He turned to his friend, “Sasuke?”

A sour expression crossed the pale nin’s face. “With the chakra I took, I should be able to manage the jump out of the valley.” He pursed his lips for a moment. “Maybe make it back to the battlefield. But I don’t like my chances if any of the Kage find me particularly offensive.”

 _Shit_. That put a kink in their plans.

Naruto knew that they’d really done a number on each other, but his friend hadn’t seemed that bad off when they had been talking.

Before he could decide if maybe things were actually better with the Uchiha so limited, Sakura spoke up.

“I can heal you.”

Heterochromatic eyes narrowed as Sasuke sent her a considering look. “You would do that? After I put you in that Genjutsu?”

Her spine straightened and suddenly there was steel in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “I’m a medic-nin. I don’t let personal feelings get in the way of that. If you’re not planning to kill anyone, then you’re still my teammate. I may not be sure if I can trust you right now, but Naruto trusts you, and I trust him. That’s enough for me.”

The other teen regarded her thoughtfully for a few beats before nodding. “Alright.”

Kakashi hummed, sounding cheerful but still with that mocking edge. “Since my adorable students are all getting along, I think I’ll head to the battlefield around where the Kage were fighting. You three head to the medic camp. When the Tsukuyomi is released I’ll send the Kage your way.”

A warm rush filled Naruto as he looked at his teammates.

“Thanks Sakura-chan, Kaka-sensei.”

They both looked at him, but it was the silver-haired man that responded, his voice pleasant in contrast to the words he spoke. “Don’t thank me yet. I still think this is all going to go horribly wrong.”

Sasuke snorted, smirking at the comment, and all of the Uzumaki’s warm feelings were gone as quickly as they came.

The blond teen folded his arms, face sullen. “You guys are dicks…”

His sensei waved jauntily in response. “On that note, I think I’ll take my leave.”

And with a swirl of leaves and dust the man flickered away.

Naruto blew out an exasperated breath before walking over to his dark-haired friend. “Ready to head out?” He held out a hand to the Uchiha.

Sasuke stared at his hand for a moment as if deciding if it was dangerous.

Just as the Uzumaki was thinking of withdrawing it, the fair teen reached out with a slightly uncomfortable expression.

A huge grin spread across the Jinchuuriki’s face and he grabbed the nin’s hand and hauled him up.

Overestimating the necessary amount of force, he pulled him too quickly and had to catch his friend as he stumbled.

Briefly leaning into the impromptu embrace, the Uchiha muttered, “Idiot.”

As Sasuke pulled away, a furious flush rushed to color Naruto’s cheeks. He coughed once to clear his throat.

“Sorry…” He scrubbed a nervous hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at the other boy.

 “Whatever.” The teen’s tone was bland, “Let’s go.”

With that, Sasuke gathered his stolen chakra and jumped out of the valley. Naruto and Sakura were quick to follow him.

Running through the surrounding forest outside of the valley, the Jinchuuriki couldn’t help but keep checking on the Uchiha.

The dark-haired nin had to be pretty bad off to admit a lack of confidence in his fitness with the other Konoha nin present. But despite the concern he expressed, Sasuke never once faltered.

Glancing at his female teammate, Naruto noted that her eyes were similarly glued to their wayward friend. The pink-haired kunoichi looked a little like she couldn’t believe that he was here with them and the blond nin could sympathize.

It still felt pretty surreal to him too.

He had spent so much time training and searching. So much time wondering what Sasuke was doing and worrying if he would ever be able to get through to him.

His rival had seemed so lost in his hatred for so long, he had never anticipated things turning out like this. Even if some of the conclusions they had come to were a bit awkward, he still felt incredibly grateful.

Preoccupied as he was with his thoughts, it seemed like they arrived at their destination in next to no time.

As they came to a stop, the less than graceful skittering slide on the part of his dark-haired friend was the first indication they had that Sasuke might not be in the best shape.

If he wasn’t feeling bad for failing to talk the Uchiha down before hurting him so badly, Naruto might have laughed.

The slip and his friend’s lack of response had reminded him a bit of a cat that had fallen and then tried to act like nothing had happened afterwards.

He felt very mature as he kept his face blank, saying nothing, heading for the central field tent.

But as the lifelong trickster reached the entrance, his maturity failed him.

With the tent held open, Naruto was unable to resist turning to the other two, his voice simpering, “Ladies first.” When he followed his quip up by gesturing to both of them, he received a blistering glare from Sasuke.

“Tch.” The Uchiha pushed past him and the Jinchuuriki snickered.

Sakura approached cracking her knuckles menacingly. “Na-ru-to…” She growled, “That wasn’t your idea of an insult, was it?”

The Uzumaki paled. “Uh… Ha… Sakura-chan…”

“That’s what I thought.” The pink-haired kunoichi cocked back her fist and before he knew it he was flying backward through the opening to land in the dirt.

A snort came from behind him and the blond nin rolled with a groan to regard a smirking Sasuke sitting on the large cot at the other end of the tent.

“Serves you right, Idiot.” The jerk was way too smug and Naruto stuck his tongue out at the other teen.

Sakura stepped over him and practically snarled, “I’m not healing that.”

The Jinchuuriki winced. “Alright, alright. Sorry Sakura-chan…”

She ignored his response in favor of settling next to Sasuke on the cot. “I’m going to focus on your major injuries. I haven’t infused enough chakra since the battle to worry about anything superficial.”

The dark-haired teen grunted in response and she began to run glowing hands just over his abdomen.

With her focus on the Uchiha, Naruto felt safe to move without drawing her ire, so he settled himself more comfortably on the ground to watch the kunoichi tend to his friend.

For a number of minutes, the medic-nin was nothing but professional. Rather than touching the dark-haired nin directly, she hovered her hands just shy of contact, her brow furrowed in concentration.

With the amount of time Sakura-chan was having to spend on the other teen’s midsection, it had to mean that Naruto had done some serious damage to something important there.

 _Stupid bastard_. Why did the guy have to be so stubborn?

Breaking the silence after it had lasted for quite a while, Sakura spoke softly. “Is there anything I can say to get you to change your plans?”

The young woman only had eyes for the teen sitting beside her and as she pleaded, Naruto felt a little like she had forgotten he was even in the tent.

“Can’t you just come back to Konoha and work on changing things there? I’m sure that the war showed Tsunade-sensei that you can still be an asset.”

In complete contrast to her demeanor, Sasuke still hadn’t even glanced at the pink-haired kunoichi. He looked completely bored with the situation and his mouth pulled into a small moue of distaste.

“Hn. I don’t think so.”

Not the least bit put off, the girl quickly replied, “You wanted to rebuild your clan, right?”

At this, the dark-haired nin finally turned to look at her, his expression faintly bemused.

Her face was curiously cold, her tone even. “You won’t find any other kunoichi our age interested in settling down with you. Honestly you’d probably be lucky to find someone willing to just carry your child.”

The silence following her declaration was thunderous and Naruto felt his face distort with shock at the harsh words.

Finally Sasuke’s voice cut into the tension. “Is that an attempt at blackmail? Or simply your idea of straight talk?”

His vibrantly colored eyes were narrowed viciously. “Either way, it was particularly worthless.”

Sakura looked nonplused and a bit stung.

Before she had a chance to respond, the dark-haired nin let out an irritated exhalation. “I have no intention of siring anymore Uchiha. I only seek to restore honor to my clan. If you plan to blackmail someone, it helps if you know the first thing about them.”

Withdrawing her hands, healing chakra cutting out, Sakura clenched her fists, a pained expression twisting her features. “Sasuke-”

“I’m really at a loss.” The Uchiha cut her off as if she hadn’t started to speak, his voice more weary than exasperated. “I don’t know how to make it any more clear. I’ve been harsh, I’ve been kind. I even tried to kill you. Are you truly incapable of understanding that I’m not interested in any kind of relationship or even sex with you?”

Sakura’s breath left her in a rush and she looked completely stricken. Her eyes filled with tears and verdant eyes blinked furiously to hold them back. A single drop escaped and Naruto couldn’t stay silent.

“Teme! She just cares about you!”

Sasuke fixed him with an absolutely livid glare. “No, Naruto. If I was a woman this kind of obsessive behavior would never be tolerated. Kakashi said I’m obligated to return her feelings. That’s bullshit. What about my feelings?”

He turned to the silently crying girl. “I don’t feel anything for you. Now if you want to be useful you should heal my face.”

Naruto choked, momentarily shocked by the level of callousness, but then he realized that maybe he should have expected it.

The blond nin jumped to his feet to get in the asshole’s face. “Leave her alone, Teme. She said she didn’t have enough chakra for stupid shit like that anyway.”

Sasuke’s expression was unimpressed, but his voice carried his aggitation. “Idiot. It was your idea to meet the Kage from a position of strength-”

“Shut up, asshole! That was before you had to go and be such a dick-!”

“Enough.” Sakura’s voice cut through their heated voices. “That’s enough, Naruto.”

The Uzumaki’s eyes snapped back to his pink-haired teammate and Sasuke turned back to regard her as well.

Spine straight, the Kunoichi dashed a few tears from her cheek with irritation.

Gathering her wounded dignity around her, she fixed the blond teen with a stern gaze, “Sasuke’s right. That was completely unprofessional.”

Sakura shifted on the cot and brought her hands back up, healing chakra at her fingertips. She addressed the dark-haired nin next to her. “You’re my patient. It’s my duty to finish what I started. I won’t let my feelings get in the way again.”

Sasuke eyed her warily for a moment before nodding his acknowledgement.

Feeling a little bewildered, Naruto watched the medic-nin as she got back to work.

She made a cursory pass of the Uchiha’s limbs, but focused on his hands almost as intently as she had his abdomen.

As the pink-haired teen’s hands lingered over Sasuke’s left hand and wrist, she bit her lip, as if holding back something she wanted to say.

The Uchiha heaved a sigh and Sakura flinched. “Personal or professional?”

She looked at him as if surprised at his more courteous tone and he responded to her glance. “Like you said, I’m your patient. If you have something to say as my medic, I’ll listen.”

She shifted uncomfortably, before clearing her throat, giving herself a chance to compose herself.

“You shouldn’t be so reckless with your chakra.” At first her voice was tentative, but then it gained strength. “Most of the damage in your hand is self-inflicted. Your lightning affinity only gives you so much protection from Raiton jutsu.”

The sharp look Sakura fixed Sasuke with was a match for her stern professional tone. “Whatever your plans, you won’t live to accomplish them if you throw yourself into every fight like a suicidal avenger.”

He treated her to a particularly sour expression in response, but didn’t argue.

After a moment Sasuke’s voice came quietly, empty of inflection, “What would you recommend?”

“You need to regulate your output better. Sure you probably get more power the way you’ve been doing it, but you’re destroying nerve endings and burning chakra pathways. You can’t sustain this kind of damage long term.”

Sasuke looked dubious.

Sakura blew out an exasperated breath. “When was the last time you saw a competent medic that gave two shits about you? I’m completely serious. Don’t push so hard, just let the jutsu flow. You might have a little difficulty finding a more natural balance at first, but you honestly don’t have a lot of competition when it comes to power output if the chakra flares I was feeling this morning are anything to go off of.”

When she finished speaking, heterochromatic eyes searched her face as if trying to find the slightest sign of exaggeration or falsehood.

Eventually some of the tension drained from the Uchiha’s frame, seemingly satisfied with what he had found.

“Fine. I’ll keep it in mind.”

The kunoichi hummed in acknowledgement, apparently willing to take that as a win. She spent a few more minutes on Sasuke’s left hand, fingers twitching as she manipulated things they couldn’t see.

“Make a fist for me.” Verdant eyes narrowed as he complied.

“I think that regardless of what you end up doing, you should start seeing Tsunade-sensei or I regularly.”

The dark-haired nin began to bristle and she held up a hand.

“It’s not another ploy. I just don’t know any of the allied medic-nin well enough to vouch for their skills on something this delicate. If you’re not comfortable with me, adapt your plans so that you’re able to see Tsunade-sensei. Or you can take your chances with someone else.”

Sakura pinned him with a steely glare. “The one thing you can’t afford to do is to change nothing.”

The two each held the other’s fierce stare for a few minutes before Sasuke finally subsided.

Naruto breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Having such intense personalities together in such a small space was incredibly stressful.

Accepting the argument as settled, Sakura went back to working on Sasuke without another word.

With a final pass from top to bottom, the kunoichi let out a pleased hum. “That should do it for the serious damage. I should have just enough to clean up your face a bit.”

The Uzumaki leaned forward to watch more closely as Sakura brought her glowing hands to rest just shy of touching the fair nin’s face.

It was a much more interesting show than all the previous healing as he could just barely discern the inflammation leaving his friend’s features. The process reminded him a bit of trying to watch a flower bloom. If he lost focus he would miss it, but it was so gradual it was hard to fully track.

Finally he was left staring at Sasuke’s flawless face, the only evidence of their fight, his dirty, damaged clothes.

Sakura sighed. “There. Practically good as new.”

She glanced at Naruto. “Ugh. Your face is totally ruining the effect, Naruto.”

Sasuke’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly, but at the blond teen’s irritated glare he kept any comments to himself.

The medic-nin gestured for the Uzumaki to come within reach. “I’ve got to do something about that eye or what I just did was completely pointless. If you were as bad off as Sasuke, I’m sure you’ve kept your foxy friend busy.”

Her smile was playful and as he knelt down in front of her, Kurama grumbled in his head. “ _I wish you could both get over that Uchiha bitch. I like her much better._ ”

Naruto sighed a bit wistfully. That certainly would have been simpler. Naruto glanced at said Uchiha, unable to help admiring the clean lines of his face. Unfortunately, he had to admit that he had never really felt drawn to her in the same way as Sasuke.

Not that she’d ever really looked at him either.

No, he and Sakura had never had a chance as anything other than consolation prizes to each other. He honestly had to wonder if he’d ever actually liked her as anything more than a friend.

Maybe his ‘crush’ had always only been a misguided expression of his rivalry towards Sasuke.

Wanting to avoid giving away his thoughts, he plastered a bright, fake grin on his face. “Thanks, Sakura-chan!”

Despite all the talk of fake smiles that she engaged in with Sai, Sakura had never been particularly adept at catching Naruto in that particular act.

For once he was grateful for that as she leaned close and the warm tingle of her chakra began working on reducing the swelling around his eye.

The look that Sasuke was sending him, on the other hand, made him feel once again that the Uchiha could read his thoughts with his Sharingan.

Of course he wouldn’t be fooled. He could probably see every little muscle twitch in Naruto’s face, maybe even before it actually happened.

Trying to avoid making eye contact with either of his friends without being too obvious about it, he hoped that Sasuke wouldn’t say anything in front of Sakura.

After a few uncomfortable minutes, the pink-haired kunoichi dropped her hands with a sigh. “That’s all the chakra I have to spare, so it’ll have to do. Still a little rough, but your eye isn’t so ghastly anymore.”

Sakura stood up between the two nin, glancing from one to the other sadly. “I wish there was something I could do or say to convince you both not to do this. It just feels so unnecessary.”

Naruto straightened as well as she bit her lip briefly. “I’m not even sure what you both feel like you need to change so much…”

The Uchiha scoffed. “Haven’t you been paying attention all these years? Kakashi told us on day one. Look underneath the underneath. Or are you so blind and self-centered that you accept Konoha’s fluffy ‘we’re the good guys’ propaganda without question?”

Looking offended and maybe a touch confused the kunoichi snapped back, “What are you even talking about, Sasuke? Can’t you take any responsibility? Do you love being a victim so much that you have to keep looking around for someone to hate?”

A nauseating wave of horror washed over Naruto. “Sasuke, she doesn’t know-”

“Tch. Like that’s an excuse.” The Uchiha’s tone was dripping with disdain, but he didn’t seem like he was going to make any aggressive moves.

Confusion was rising in the kunoichi’s eyes. “What do you mean, Naruto? What don’t I know?”

This was a mess Naruto hadn’t anticipated. He felt conflicted between his need to defend Sasuke and the desire to avoid discussing such a painful subject in front of his unpredictable friend.

He met the teen’s doujutsu colored eyes trying to communicate his uncertainty to him. “Sorry, Sasuke. I would have told her, but Kaka-sensei insisted on keeping it under wraps. What do you want to do?”

Naruto could tell that Sakura was starting to get mad again. “What the hell, Naruto!” She rounded on him, grabbing him by his mesh shirt. “Why are you acting like this? What don’t I know?!”

He bit his lip and looked past her to Sasuke.

His friend’s eyes were narrow, face otherwise blank. “Maybe she should ask Kakashi why I hate Konoha. I’d almost be interested to hear what he would say.” His voice was cold again and totally devoid of all other feeling.

Sakura gave Naruto a bit of a shake, her voice quiet. “No. Tell me, Naruto. Does Sasuke have a legitimate reason to hate Konoha?”

He didn’t look at her, his eyes glued to the Uchiha, searching his face for any hint of what Sasuke wanted him to say. The blank expression on the other teen’s face gave him nothing.

The Jinchuuriki closed his eyes, not wanting to look at either of them as he responded to the medic-nin.

“Yes.” Naruto paused, trying to moisten his dry mouth, “He has every reason to hate Konoha.”

Her fingers slipped from his shirt and he sagged onto the cot next to Sasuke.

When he looked back at her, Sakura’s brow was knit, her eyes shifting as she considered his words.

Suddenly she turned to look at Sasuke with dawning horror. “This is about your family, isn’t it?”

The dark-haired teen regarded her with a shuttered expression saying nothing.

At the lack of response it was like she couldn’t resist trying to fill in the blanks.

“Did they ignore a tip? Or did they promote your brother too soon? Push him too hard?”

Naruto couldn’t stand it and he found himself interrupting before she could continue speaking.

“It’s worse than all that. Please stop guessing, Sakura-chan.”

Her eyes widened and she stared at the ground for a moment, before turning away from both of them.

“I think I will go ask Kakashi-sensei after all.” Her voice was faint with shock. Naruto didn’t want to imagine the scenarios that could be running through her head.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Sakura began walking slowly towards the tent entrance and then exited without another word.

Naruto was extremely grateful to see her go.

The encounter had left him feeling freshly stricken, like he had when Obito had first told him the truth about had happened to Sasuke’s family.

Silence stretched in the tent and he reluctantly raised his eyes to look at his friend.

He couldn’t read the other teen at all and that worried him.

“Are you okay?” Naruto asked tentatively.

Sasuke tilted his head and though his expression didn’t change, the blond nin was almost overwhelmed as a dark aura washed over him.

It wasn’t exactly killing intent, but it was just as alarming, giving him a distinctly shocky, staticky sensation. A chill rushed up Naruto’s spine, like someone walking over his grave.

The weight of the Uchiha’s gaze pinned him to the cot and he felt his heart flutter like a rabbit’s before a wolf.

Kurama’s voice cut through his panic. “ _You stood up to my hate and conquered it, Brat. Don’t you dare let his defeat you._ ”

With a jolt he grabbed his friend’s wrist, wrapping it in a firm grip.

For a moment Sasuke stared down at his hand and the Konoha nin wondered if he was going to take the action as an aggressive move.

But instead life began to return to the Uchiha as he unthawed from the state he had been in.

After fixing Naruto with an indecipherable look, Sasuke stated simply, “I have a jutsu I want to use.”

He pulled his wrist gently from the Jinchuuriki’s grip.

Naruto wasn’t entirely sure why he let the other teen do it, but maybe it was because as Sasuke’s hands flew through a rapid series of seals, the Konoha nin didn’t feel any more threat coming from him.

The Uzumaki looked around briefly, noting the faint glow of chakra clinging to the cloth of the tent.

“A barrier jutsu?” he asked curiously.

“I learned it in Oto. It won’t keep anyone from entering or exiting, but it will keep sound from travelling. Good for talking sedition.”

Naruto blew out a deep breath of air, scrubbing both his hands through his hair. “So you ready to do this?”

The other teen made a vague affirmative noise and rose, moving to stand directly in front of where the Uzumaki was sitting, facing him. “You remember what the Sage said?”

“Yeah. Ready when you are.”

Sasuke’s eyes roved his face for a moment. “I’m going to wait until we’ve dealt with the Kage to release the Bijuu.”

Naruto fought his knee jerk reaction to the news and tried to actually think about it. They really didn’t need to be explaining things to a bunch of pissed off chakra beasts before or during their conversation with the Kage. That could turn out to be another messy conversation anyway.

Sighing heavily Naruto had to admit it was probably a sound decision. “Fine. I guess that makes sense.”

The Uchiha actually looked mildly relieved. He must have been sure that Naruto was going to fight him on it.

Now in agreement, they were ready to free everyone from the mass Genjutsu.

Each nodding to the other, they moved in perfect sync to weave the rat seal and infuse the chakra needed to end the Tsukuyomi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sure if the scene at the end here where Sakura realizes that Konoha had a role in what happened to the Uchiha reads the way I wanted it, but I hope it’s appropriate for how truly horrifying the subject matter is. Genocide isn’t something that many modern people have a lot of context for. 
> 
> Sakura is a bit of a bitch in this chapter, but it’s not my intention to bash her. I think she has a lot of growing up to do when it comes to Sasuke and wanted to show that here. This should be the first step in her finally figuring her shit out.


	3. My Name's a War Song, I’ll Sing You a New One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a line from the song "My Name is Ruin" by Gary Numan

* * *

Now in agreement, they were ready to free everyone from the mass Genjutsu.

Each nodding to the other, they moved in perfect sync to weave the rat seal and infuse the chakra needed to end the Tsukuyomi.

* * *

The rush of their combined chakra was intense. Low as their reserves were, the release of the massive jutsu carried them away for a few moments. Energy rising and rising until something snapped like an over stretched elastic.

If it had been a sound, its sudden absence would have been deafening.

Naruto felt grateful that he had been sitting, otherwise he might have staggered with the change of pressure.

He rolled his eyes at his friend, who was standing stoic and steady as a rock. The blond nin was pretty sure that Sasuke was just acting cool and had been just as shaken as he had been.

Sasuke dropped his hands from where they had been held in front of him and the silence stretched between them. It felt sort of awkward after the uncomfortable confrontation with Sakura.

Naruto itched his cheek nervously. “I guess we’ll probably have to wait a few minutes before anyone shows up…?”

The dark-haired nin grunted and glanced towards the tent entrance.

Not one to be foiled so easily, he tried to engage his friend in conversation again. “So how do want to do this? I do the talking and you back me up as the silent, stoic muscle?”

Eyes thoughtful, Sasuke hummed quietly in acknowledgement. “I seriously doubt they’ll be interested in anything I have to say. I’ll probably only contribute if I don’t like where things are going.”

After a brief pause, he spoke again, voice coming slowly as if he was still thinking. “In fact, maybe it would be better if they didn’t even see me at first… My chakra is low enough that I shouldn’t have any trouble suppressing it sufficiently to go unnoticed.”

Naruto crossed his arms with a hum, his eyes scrunching closed in a thoughtful frown. “I guess that could work. You could stay out of sight until I get them used to the idea that we’re working together…”

He scratched his head before continuing, “Hm… Yeah, I think I like that. That way we can get an idea of how they feel about you first!”

His friend looked at him blankly for a moment before nodding once.

Not bothering to say anything else, the fair teen walked over to the privacy curtain just inside the tent entrance and sat down cross-legged. Sasuke bit his thumb and flashed through the signs for a summoning.

Before Naruto had a chance to question what his friend was doing, a larger, natural-sized snake popped into existence.

Without a word, the Summon opened it jaws wide, fangs dripping, and Sasuke reached deep down the snake’s throat.

Naruto cringed, “What are you-?” But he was silenced by the irritated look he received from the dark-haired nin.

After a moment, the Uchiha began withdrawing his hand and eventually pulled a sword from the snake’s mouth.

Sasuke laid the sword flat across his bent knees and bowed to the Summon. “Thank you.”

The snake dipped its head and disappeared with another pop.

Once the smoke dissipated, his friend tucked the sword in the back of his Shimenawa belt, where Naruto normally saw him carry it.

“What the heck was that about, Teme?”

Sasuke raised a dark brow. “I lost my sword. I always keep a spare.”

Recalling his last encounter with the inside of a snake, Naruto failed to suppress a shudder of disgust.

“Nasty.”

After shrugging in response, the other teen dropped his head to rest on his shoulder, eyes falling closed as if he intended to sleep right there.

The Uzumaki sighed deeply. Leave it to the bastard to keep finding new and interesting ways to be irritating.

He bounced his leg to try and burn off some nervous energy. Naruto hadn’t really thought about the fact that his plan meant they would end up waiting around.

Tapping his fingers on the edge of the cot in agitation, he examined Sasuke’s peaceful face. He had to admit that it was probably a good thing that one of them was relaxed, but it didn’t make the implied snub any less obnoxious.

His friend’s behavior made him wonder if the dark-haired teen cared either way about the outcome of their meeting with the Kage. The calm nonchalance he displayed as they sat in silence seemed to contradict Sasuke’s earlier intensity.

Kurama’s gruff voice sounded in his head, “ _He’s already decided how this is going to go. You’d better watch him carefully, Naruto. If things deviate from whatever he’s planning, there’s no telling what he’ll do_.”

Naruto turned his attention inward to look at the fox in numb surprise.

It took a few beats for his brain to fully process Kurama’s words.

“ _Shit. You might actually be right. The bastard was pretty negative when we first talked about this… Maybe he expects that things will go wrong and then he can just go back to his original plan for the Kage…_ ”

The Bijuu grunted his agreement. “ _I hate to say it, but it’s not a bad plan on his part. He humors you now, the Kage push the issue, and then he can take them out without your interference. Maybe even keep you as an ally afterward_.”

He sighed heavily. Why did things have to be so complicated with Sasuke?

Naruto looked at the dim ground of the inside of his seal before glancing back at his Bijuu. “ _I wish I could just trust him… But I’ll be careful_.”

Kurama regarded him solemnly for a few moments before a wide grin broke out on his face and he leaned forward, holding out his massive fist. “ _I got your back, Brat_.”

A rush of affection filled Naruto as he leaned over to meet his friend’s fist with his own. “ _Thanks, Kurama_.”

Feeling much more at peace, the Uzumaki opened his eyes to look back out into the tent.

Sasuke was watching him with heavily hooded eyes, but didn’t comment.

The quiet was much more comfortable for Naruto and his thoughts turned to the best ways to address the different Kage.

A number of minutes passed in that way, both teens keeping their own counsel.

Naruto found himself musing that, if he were to close his eyes again, it would probably feel like he was alone with how tightly his friend was suppressing his chakra. He guessed that made sense, as the likelihood of the Kage arriving rose with every passing minute.

As such, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Kakashi poked his head in through the tent entrance, but his sudden appearance still caused Naruto to jerk up straight, pulled abruptly from his almost meditative state by the unexpected movement.

The Jounin raised a silver brow at the reaction. “The Kage should be here momentarily. I rushed ahead to check in and make sure you two were all set before they arrived.”

Naruto scrubbed a hand through the hair at the back of his head. “Uh, yeah, we’re good to go. Thanks, Kaka-sensei.”

Gray eyes flicking around the tent, the famous nin hummed thoughtfully. “Right.”

He pinned the blond teen with an intense gaze. “I’ll be just outside.” And with that, Kakashi dropped the flap and disappeared from view.

“Huh.” The Uzumaki felt somewhat bemused by his sensei’s demeanor. Rather than feeling reassured by the man’s statement, he had felt the slightest impression of a threat in his words.

But he didn’t have much time to contemplate the implications of that, as the Kage began entering the tent.

The Uzumaki did his best not to glance at where his friend was and give away his hiding place. Sasuke must be using some sort of subtle Genjutsu, because though Naruto knew right where he was, the dark-haired nin wasn’t noticeable if Naruto wasn’t looking right at him.

Watching the leaders file in, Naruto marked how haggard and worn they all looked. He suddenly he felt bad for what they were about to spring on them.

It would be kinder to let them recuperate from the War and see to their duties first, but this was too important to wait.

Even if controlling Sasuke weren’t a factor, his friend was right that things couldn’t continue as they were.

Change was long overdue. The War had been the ultimate proof of that.

Taking a bracing breath, the Konoha nin began to speak, “Hey guys, thanks for-”

Sasuke’s voice cut through before he could finish his thought. “Don’t move. My sword will sever your spine before you can get at me, even as fast as you are, Raikage.”

Caught totally off guard, the Jinchuuriki could only watch in shock as the Kage under threat cursed and tensed to act.

Just as Naruto despaired that Sasuke had finally fucked things irreparably, sand rose with a rushing hiss to bind the two combatants.

Ei growled fiercely, “Kazekage! Release me! I can deal with this little bitch.”

Said bitch kept his silence, but the Uzumaki could practically hear him roll his eyes where he was hidden by the massive figure of the Raikage.

A deep, weary voice answered the enraged Kage, “Raikage-sama, this is not the time. I have enough chakra to hold both of you for quite a while.”

Naruto studied his redheaded friend, noting that he looked steady, despite his obvious exhaustion.

“Thanks, Gaara.” The blond’s voice was warm with relief and gratitude.

Apparently this did not please the Uchiha, who made a sharp irritated noise. Naruto shifted to try and look around the massive man in front of him, attempting get an eye on his troublesome partner in crime.

The teen felt like pulling his hair in agitation and he addressed Sasuke without thinking. “Anyway, what the _actual_ fuck was that, Sasuke! Attacking the Raikage wasn’t part of the plan!”

That got him the undivided attention of all the Kage and his dark-haired friend spoke into the resulting silence.

“Idiot. It wasn’t part of _your_ plan.”

Before he could snap back at the Uchiha, Tsunade interrupted, concern and disappointment coloring her voice.

“What have you done, Naruto?”

A bit stung by her tone, the Uzumaki turned to look at the woman who had become like a mother to him.

“Baa-chan… It’s not like you’re thinking. I just convinced Sasuke that we’re on the same side.” His voice was entreating, desperate for her not to misunderstand. The blond nin was counting on the Hokage’s support.

Honey-brown eyes narrowed dangerously, “And what side is that, Brat? Last I heard, Uchiha here had declared war on Konoha.”

 “Our side!” Naruto exclaimed, pointing between himself and the Sannin emphatically. “Konoha’s! Or- I guess I mean all our sides… Ugh, this is such a mess!”

Naruto covered his face with his hands in exasperation, before dropping them. “Can we just start over? Pretend that guy didn’t try to start an international incident?”

The Raikage snorted rudely. “Isn’t that Konoha’s usual modus operandi? How far back in time should we go? Before the Kage Summit where the Uchiha declared war on all of us and killed a Kage? Before he joined Akatsuki? How about before he defected from his village as a child?”

Sasuke spoke up, his voice no less snide than the Kumo nin. “You forgot to mention when I tried to kill your brother…”

He rose his voice over the man’s enraged sputtering. “Not really looking for a pardon. I’m here for Naruto. And the proof of my loyalty to him-”

Mei gasped as Sasuke suddenly switched places with her and leaving her the one bound by Gaara’s sand. The Uchiha continued speaking, “-is that I’ve had the ability to free myself this whole time, and none of you are dead yet.”

Another stunned silence filled the tent as the Rinnegan wielder casually moved to sit beside Naruto.

Internally the blond nin was kicking himself. He hadn’t thought that Sasuke had enough chakra for that kinda bullshit.

Naruto smacked his friend on the shoulder, “Not helping, Teme...”

The other teen merely smirked in response, Doujutsu still active.

Oonoki cleared his throat, a somewhat bemused look on his face. “Actually, that was a rather… _convincing_ argument...” The ancient Kage looked at the other leaders. “Whether you all agree or not, I’m not sure I’m ready to engage another Uchiha in battle anytime soon…”

There was a sigh from Mei, out of sight behind Ei, who growled in irritation. Tsunade slumped where she stood. Gaara alone had no visible reaction.

Withdrawing his sand from the Mizukage, Gaara then turned his attention back to Naruto.

“All this talk of sides and plans, Naruto. What did you call us here to talk about?” The red-haired nin’s voice was soft and neutral. “We were led to believe that we were debriefing you on the end of the war.”

Naruto grimaced. “It wasn’t my intention to mislead you. Any of you.” He side-eyed Sasuke, before muttering, “Sorry this guy is such a nutcase…”

His dark-haired friend gave him a particularly bland look which he ignored, hoping to get things back on track.

“Okay, what I was going to say, before this Teme right here so rudely interrupted me, is that I really appreciate you guys coming to talk to me.” Naruto scrubbed his jaw with an open palm giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts.

“So you all probably noticed that most everyone is alive and free. We stopped Madara and the Tsukuyomi. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan helped, but without Sasuke, everything would have been lost.”

The Raikage spat. “So this is where you beg us to pardon ‘your friend’ again? Gonna get on your knees like before?”

Sasuke looked at Naruto sharply, but the Konoha nin didn’t answer the unspoken question. Instead he sat up straighter on the cot and met the sneering man’s gaze with steely determination.

“No.”

He let the word hang in the air for a moment before continuing, his voice firm.

“I’m done with begging. But that’s not what this is about.”

Naruto stared the Kage down until he dropped his mocking expression. The new look he received was a mixture of wariness and newborn respect.

When the man spoke again, it was with a much different tone.

“Tell us then, Brat, what _is_ this about?”

Naruto took a deep breath before responding. He had to get this right.

“So having defeated Madara, and all the crazy stuff that followed, me and Sasuke got to talking while we recovered enough to release the Tsukuyomi.”

The Uzumaki glanced at his dark-haired friend to see if he would object to the way he was characterizing things. When all he got from the other teen was a slight nod he felt safe to proceed.

“We had won the war, but had we really saved the world? As big a threat as they were, villains like Madara and the Akatsuki were merely symptoms of a much bigger problem. We decided that even if their methods and goals were stupid, those guys were right about one thing. In order to be truly saved, our world needs to change.”

Tsunade looked uncomfortable. “Brat, that sounds-”

“I know how that sounds, but hear me out, okay?” Naruto sighed and mussed his hair nervously.

“Listen, the Shinobi system wastes all our potential. Look at the way things have been between the villages all these years! At each other’s throats, the cycle of hatred leading to so much killing, and the constant loss of our precious people…”

He leaned forward, speaking passionately, “But it doesn’t have to be that way! As a result of this war, the face of the shinobi world has already begun changing. Look at what we’ve already done together. If the villages stand together we can accomplish anything!”

Oonoki spoke up, voice thoughtful, “So far it sounds like you’re just arguing that we continue the Shinobi Alliance. Surely you know that was already likely to happen, us all having fought together?”

Sasuke nudged him. “Dobe, get to the point.”

He responded to the Tsuchikage, his voice a bit tentative, “Maintaining the Shinobi Alliance is definitely important to our plan...”

Naruto took a deep breath and decided to follow his friend’s instruction to get right to it.

Steeling his resolve, Naruto made sure his tone was firm, “We want to stage a coup, and we want the Kage to stand with us. It’s time to let shinobi be in charge of shinobi.”

The Mizukage blanched, “You don’t mean-”

Realizing his words could be easily misunderstood, he was quick to clarify.

“I’m not saying we do anything violent! I’m talking a bloodless coup. We call a meeting with the Daimyo and tell them that they can’t tell us what to do anymore! Too many conflicts have happened because of them. It’s only a matter of time before they start to object to the Alliance, try to pit us against each other again. War has no consequence to those that don’t do their own fighting and dying!”

He could tell that his words had affected Tsunade-baa-chan and the Raikage. But again it was the Mizukage who spoke.

“The Daimyo were given their power by the Gods.” Her voice was cold, her face blank. “Who are you to stand against them?”

There was something about the way she looked at him that caused Naruto to shrink under her stare, his confidence deserting him.

It was reminiscent of vicious curses and baleful glares. Beatings in back alleys and the smell of rotten food. It made him feel small, but like everything was closing in at the same time.

Sasuke saved him, his deep voice cutting through his panic before it grew too large.

“Who are we to stand against them? We’re their victims.” His tone was matter of fact, as if what he said was obviously true.

“We’re the survivors of two doomed clans whose demise no one speaks of. We were discarded at a young age by the system you champion. Still we rose up to become powerful shinobi. Who else could possibly have more right to oppose the Daimyo than the two of us?”

When there was no immediate response, the Uchiha went on implacably, “To address your other point, if it’s true that the Daimyo derive their power from the Gods, then don’t you think the Gods would better protect their chosen? Just the existence of shinobi like Madara, or even Naruto and myself calls that idea into question.”

His voice lost some of its calm, “I will not submit to weak men just because someone tells me that’s the way it’s supposed to be! Let the Gods side with their chosen. Whoever wins should have the right to rule.”

Color rose in Mei’s face and she spoke from between clenched teeth.

“That’s blasphemy.”

Sasuke treated the woman to a disdainful sneer. “Then may the Gods strike me down now, if I offend them.”

Clearly aghast at his words, the Mizukage flinched back as if she truly expected an immediate and dramatic consequence. When nothing happened she was visibly shaken.

The dark-haired teen turned to Naruto, eyes smoldering with an expression that sent a thrill up his spine. He got the strongest impression that Sasuke had taken her apart like that _for_ him, rather than to show him up.

Not wanting to show his gratitude in too obvious a way, he dropped the other’s gaze and shifted his hand so that their fingers just bumped. The Jinchuuriki was pleased that when he wiggled his pinky against the other’s hand, the dark-haired nin didn’t pull away.

He glanced at the Kage, a little embarrassed by his distraction, hoping none of them had noticed.

No such luck.

Tsunade was watching him with narrowed eyes and Gaara – well he couldn’t quite decipher the look on the young Kage’s face.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, his redheaded friend spoke, his rough voice coming soft.

“Even if one does not believe that the royalty are favored by the Gods, an idea that holds sway with many shinobi, this is hardly the time for revolution.”

Tsunade grimaced. “I hate to get in the way of whatever you’ve worked out with the Uchiha, but he’s right, Brat. You kids have no idea what it takes to recover from a war like this. This may have been a short one, but carnage like this is unprecedented.”

Gaara tilted his head briefly in acknowledgement of her words before elaborating. “It’s impossible to tell how widespread the destruction of this war will prove to be, but my guess is that the fallout will be devastating for both civilians and shinobi alike. We need to evaluate who we’ve lost and where most assistance will be needed.”

Naruto leaned forward. “But that just means that we need to act quickly! We can’t be waiting around for civilians to decide what we should do. We have all the leaders we need in this tent! Don’t you think things will be more efficient with less steps in the process of fixing things?”

The Kazekage gave him a mildly exasperated look, but his tone remained patient. “Starting another conflict would hardly remove steps, Naruto. That is the last thing the villages need. Another war could truly be the end of us”

Trying to control his frustration, the Uzumaki kept his voice low but some intensity snuck in. “I’m not talking about anything as big as a war. This doesn’t have to be a thing we involve anyone but the Daimyo in. Just sitting down and talking with them is all I’m proposing.”

Sasuke spoke from beside him. “Do any of you really think the Daimyo would dare antagonize a united group of shinobi as powerful as the seven of us? They’re accustomed to your subservience. I seriously doubt they would think to guard against you. Even if the discussion turned to threats, it would hardly become violent. They wouldn’t stand a chance”

Gaara sighed looking much older than his chronological age. “I think you’re both missing much of my point. Now is the time for reconstruction. It will be a struggle to find the resources just to address that need, much less to try to alter the framework of our government system. If we were to lose the support of the royalty, I don’t see how we could possibly recover.”

Oonoki nodded solemnly, arms crossed. “Well spoken, young Kazekage, well spoken. One must always consider the money!”

“Thank you, Tsuchikage-sama. I was speaking more generally, but you are correct.” The teenage leader dipped his head in a sketchy bow before turning his attention back to Naruto. “Our villages run primarily on revenue from the Daimyo. If they were to cut off funds, we would have few other options.”

The Tsuchikage gestured to Naruto and Sasuke. “You two would do well to listen to the Kazekage. It’s clear why he was chosen to lead his village even at his age!”

Naruto resisted the urge to grumble, feeling the man’s comments had been rather pointed, but the old Iwa nin continued on.

“Reconstruction after a battle like this is costly. Just expenses for materials could put any one of the villages under at this point, even assuming that the food supply hasn’t been compromised. Many nin will probably need long term medical care with the monsters we were fighting and they have to eat too. Labor isn’t free either.”

The Kage seemed like he could go on listing expenses indefinitely, but struck by sudden inspiration, Naruto blurted out excitedly, “But that’s just it! Who is going to do the actually labor? Who’s going to be the ones fixing everything? Most of that kinda work is done by shinobi.”

Smacking his fist into an open palm the blond teen persisted. “Things will probably be rough for the Daimyo too! They _need_ us. Without us, their money means nothing! Some of the smaller nations have non-shinobi workforces, but nothing near what’s needed to handle a mess this big.”

Oonoki stroked his beard thoughtfully. “True as that is, it sounds like a poor bluff to me. We have the man-power, but lack resources, as the Kazekage pointed out. Say they contract all the smaller villages and let us twist?”

The Konoha nin didn’t let the continued resistance faze him, “So we pool our resources! Prioritize only what reconstruction we need. Besides, those smaller villages will probably have been just as hard hit as anyone else and they had less to start with before.”

Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he thought quickly. “Look, we haven’t even begun to think about how much this alliance changes things. In the past, the Daimyo have drawn their power from pitting us against each other. Better behave or they’ll give their missions and money to some other major village. If we stand together that won’t work anymore. Instead of doing whatever they want so they’ll keep giving us our allowance, we should be charging them in advance for our continued assistance!”

The Tsuchikage hummed and Tsunade grumbled under her breath, “Can’t say that wouldn’t be nice…”

After a few moments, the Raikage cursed an addressed the other Kage, “Damn it, the Brat’s right! I’m tired of having to beg just to take a shit. If we hadn’t needed to ask the Daimyo their permission to form this alliance in the first place, we could have assembled on the battlefield much sooner! It would have saved us from having to fight on so many different fronts, the Edo Tensei wouldn’t have cost us so many lives!”

The Mizukage looked scandalized, “I can’t believe you would actually entertain this kind of treason, Raikage-sama!”

“These kids have some good points.” The man fixed Naruto with a fierce gaze. “Really the only problem I have with your plan, Brat, is that this kind of political maneuvering isn’t a job for a couple of Genin.”

Sasuke made a rude noise and all eyes turned to him.

The Uchiha sneered, “So we’re good enough to fight your battles but not to have a say in your government? No one had any problem letting us take the lead during the war. Or are you all ready to forget that?”

A sour look twisted the Raikage’s face but he didn’t have any other immediate response.

The dark-haired teen stared each of the Kage down in turn.

“How many S-rank nin does a shinobi need to defeat anyway before you’ll respect them _or_ before Konoha will consider a field promotion? The fact that Naruto is still viewed as a Genin is a joke. I’ve been considered a Jounin in Oto for years and he stood with me on equal footing.”

Naruto bit his lip at the unexpected defense, fingers clenching on the edge of the cot. It surprised him to hear Sasuke talk about him like that.

Like the other teen had been keeping track of him and his accomplishments. Like he thought Naruto was worthy of respect.

Tsunade chewed on her thumbnail in thought. “You actually make an interesting point, Uchiha…” she muttered distractedly.

Though his expression didn’t change much, Naruto could tell that his friend was taken aback that any of the Kage would actually listen to him.

Suddenly Tsunade pinned the blond teen with a stern glare. “Uzumaki Naruto!”

Recognizing for once that this was not the time for irreverence, he snapped to his feet. “Hokage-sama.”

“At the recommendation of a Jounin of the Allied Shinobi forces, I have decided to award you a field promotion to the rank of Jounin. You have earned this rank by assisting in the defeat more than nine S-ranked criminals and have conducted yourself with valor and integrity on the field of battle.”

Within moments of each other, Gaara and Oonoki responded, “Seconded.” They shared a brief smile, each pleased at the show of support from the other.

Tsunade grumbled in an undertone, “And I don’t give a damn what the Council has to say about that…”

Feeling a bit flabbergasted, Naruto sat down roughly next to his friend who sent him a rather pleased look.

Cracking her knuckles noisily, the blonde Kage turned a smug look on the large man still bound by Gaara’s sand. “So any objections to their plan now, Raikage-sama?”

The Kage in question glared at the Senju and an offended noise came from Mei.

“Got you in their pocket, eh, Tsunade-hime?” The Kumo nin grumbled.

She flipped a ponytail over her shoulder. “Don’t be like that, Ei. You know the Brat earned it.”

Bristling, the Kumo nin all but spat, “Don’t be obtuse! I don’t care how you choose to conduct your village. But I’d be a fool to have that mad Uchiha at my back!”

An amused huff came from Sasuke, “Well, he’s not wrong…”

Chakra filled the tent in a rush and the Raikage strained against his constraints with an irritated growl. Sweat beaded on Gaara’s forehead as he fought to maintain his sand’s grip and the peace.

Naruto cursed, ready to jump between the two at a moment’s notice.

 _Stupid Teme_. Why did he have to be so much trouble?

Oonoki’s dry voice cut through the tension. “Don’t you see what the boy is doing, Raikage? The Uchiha is like a leashed predator, posturing in hopes that prey will come within his reach. Surly though he may be, it seems that there’s a limit to what he’ll risk in front of Naruto-kun. I think at the very least, we can trust in that.”

Seeing the sour expression on Sasuke’s face, the Raikage immediately relaxed and stopped fighting Gaara’s hold with a laugh. “Your little tamed bitch almost got me, Uzumaki.”

The Tsuchikage hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe he has more in common with his brother than one might think.”

Naruto didn’t have time to ponder the implications of such a statement as killing intent spiked and Sasuke tensed to act.

The Uzumaki threw his arms around his friend’s shoulders, desperate to hold him in place.

He whispered roughly into the fabric of his sleeve. “Sasuke, _please_.”

The dark-haired teen shuddered as if he could hardly bare the inaction, but to Naruto’s surprise, he didn’t make any further aggressive moves.

Maybe it helped that Tsunade’s face was livid as she growled at the other Kage, “What would you know about it, you nasty old fossil?”

The elder snapped back quickly, “That’s rich coming from you, Hime.” Then, regaining his composure some, he shrugged, neatly side-stepping the question, “You know Uchiha and their brothers, I simply wished to see how tight his leash was.”

Tsunade sighed in irritation. “I’m surrounded by idiots… Really, you’d think you’d have learned by now, don’t bait the Uchiha.”

Naruto eyed her, a little horrified by her casual attitude, but to his surprise Sasuke released a small noise of amusement as if startled into it.

Heedless of the arms still holding him, the dark-haired nin leaned forward and covered his face loosely with a hand while he snickered.

Head spinning from the sudden turn, Naruto regarded his friend suspiciously, wondering if he had finally, really lost it.

Quiet laughter ceasing, the Uchiha lifted his head and regarded the Kage through his fingers.

His voice came filled with dark amusement. “If you think me tamed, you’re seriously misinterpreting the situation. This meeting is a courtesy I’m extending to Naruto. For some reason he thinks of all of you as his allies. Shall I dispel the confusion?”

Mei hissed, “You arrogant-”

Sasuke raised his voice slightly to speak over her. “Stop thinking of us as your subordinates, rather start thinking of us as your superiors. Madara soundly defeated the five of you, and without the interference of Orochimaru, you all would have died. The two of us not only defeated Madara without trouble, but also increased our power in the process.”

He tilted his head to bring attention to his Rinnegan and the Mizukage blanched, likely recalling how he had demonstrated his proficiency with the Doujutsu.

Gaara regarded the two of them with narrowed eyes for a moment before speaking. “Would you have us believe that you’re just humoring Naruto out of loyalty or affection, Sasuke? What are you getting out of this situation?”

Suddenly Sasuke turned to Naruto and grabbed his face in a dominating grip. “Affection, hm?”

For a breathless moment the blond teen thought his friend was going to kiss him. The intensity of his brightly colored gaze froze Naruto in place more surely than the hold on his chin. But the Uchiha didn’t draw him any closer.

“His cooperation is preferable. Killing him would be more trouble than it’s worth.”

Maybe it was the intimacy of their close eye-contact, but with the Uchiha’s breath fanning against his cheek, the teen found that he couldn’t quite believe the cold words.

The moment was over as Sasuke shifted his attention back to the Kage, dropping his hand from Naruto’s face. “Your cooperation, on the other hand, is unnecessary for our plan to go forward. In fact, I’d rather do this without it. You can thank Naruto for convincing me to give you all the chance to participate in any way.”

A rumbling growl broke from the Raikage. “Your attitude pisses me off, Brat. You need to be knocked down a few pegs.”

Mei huffed, crossing her arms with a sour look. “I agree. You need to learn your place, Uchiha. Having an advanced jutsu doesn’t make you leadership material.”

Gaara spoke up, “Raikage-sama, Mizukage-sama, I think Sasuke has made it clear that we don’t have the luxury of deliberate misunderstandings.”

He paused to make sure that he had their full attention. “While it is true that in the past, there have been S-ranked nin that have submitted to village leadership, we must not delude ourselves by thinking this was anything but a choice on their part. That dynamic depends on the fact that the nin in question respects the village power structure.”

This seemed to bank some of the righteous fire of the two objecting Kage.

Oonoki stroked his beard, “Clearly the Uchiha is not that kind of nin.”

The blonde Hokage voiced her agreement, “The delivery may have left something to be desired, but we’d be fools to deny that the Uchiha brat is right.” Her voice was rueful as she continued, “These kids are monstrously more powerful than we are. Maybe it’s time for us to all retire if we can’t defend against threats like these.”

Naruto had to fight down his hurt at the Senju woman’s words. “You guys make what we’re trying to do sound so terrible! It’s not like that. Sasuke has his reasons to want to change things. I do too. It’s nothing sinister to want to restructure a broken system.”

He scrubbed a nervous hand through his hair, feeling awkward. Nothing seemed to be going right.

“Gaara, I know you at least know where we’re coming from. No child should have to grow up the way we did, whether they’re Jinchuuriki or Kekkei Genkai holders. The competition between the villages that the Daimyo foster is largely responsible for that. It skews people’s priorities.”

His redheaded friend gave him a considering look and Naruto continued to press his point.

“We’re not actually trying to threaten you guys or hold you hostage or anything, but Sasuke and I just saved everyone’s asses. I think that should mean that we get a say in how things work from now on. We have the power to help make things happen if you’ll work with us! If it all has to be rebuilt anyways, why not make everything better while we do it?”

Tsunade covered her face with a tired laugh. “Aw, Brat… Only you could make sedition sound like the right thing to do…”

“Don’t be like that Baa-chan. It’s just like I told you and the Raikage before. My parents trusted me to save the shinobi world. We may have stopped everyone from dying, but that doesn’t mean we really saved them! There’s still a lot of fixing to do and Sasuke is going to help me do it! I meant everything I said before. I won’t fail!”

The Raikage sighed. “If it was just you, Kid, I wouldn’t have a problem with all this. I put my trust in you before and you didn’t let us down.”

His expression darkened and he bared his teeth. “I just can’t abide that mad dog beside you. The Uchiha have always been an unstable, cursed clan and if you ask me, putting the last Uchiha down would be the biggest favor you could do for the world.” 

The Kumo nin’s words had an interesting effect on the Hokage. Before Naruto had even fully absorbed what the man had said, Tsunade had moved to stand between the two teens on the cot and the other Kage, her jaw clenched.

“That sounded a little bit too close to a threat, Raikage. I think you forget that the Uchiha and the Senju were the founding clans of Konoha. Not to mention that this particular Uchiha is the closest friend of the man who may end up being my successor. If you take action against this kid-”

She shifted into a loose battle stance and gestured to her chest with a thumb, “-you’ll have to go through me.”

Sasuke gazed up at her with a blank look of shock on his face. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting such a blatant show of support from the Senju.

Naruto had never felt more proud to call the woman his Kage.

He rose to his feet, “And me too. You won’t ever convince me to turn my back on my friend, Raikage.”

The Kumo nin made an aggravated noise. “You Konoha nin are so fucking dramatic. Do I look like I’m in a position to do anything right now?”

Tsunade relaxed her stance and placed her hands on her hips. “Didn’t stop you from repeatedly trying to pick fights, Ei. Maybe we should let the Uchiha kick your ass. Might knock _you_ down a peg. Oh wait-” She glanced at Sasuke with a slightly playful expression, “He already did. Guess it didn’t take.”

The bound man flushed with rage, but before he could pitch another fit, Gaara’s voice snapped out implacably.

“Enough. Are we Kage, or children?”

He received a heated glare from the Raikage and a sullen frown from the Hokage, but neither responded verbally.

Oonoki cleared his throat. “Several arguments have been put forward and we have heard some counter arguments as well. Where do we all stand on the Daimyo issue? Personally, I don’t care much either way. I’m seriously considering putting the matter to my successor.”

Tsunade was quick to respond, “Konoha will stand with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke in this. If Naruto says their aims are benevolent, I believe him.”

Ei gave another irritated huff. “I like the idea of getting out from under the Daimyo’s thumb, but I’m still conflicted about the inclusion of the Uchiha. If the Brat can prove that he can control him going forward, I will consider withdrawing my objection.”

Mei looked to Gaara as he stood silent, her expression entreating. “Kazekage-sama, you have been the voice of reason during this foul discussion. Surely you don’t agree with these traitors…”

Gaara sighed heavily and looked away from her demanding gaze. “Please don’t misunderstand me, Mizukage-sama. I have spent the small amount of time since my election trying again and again to bring change to Suna, only to repeatedly be blocked by my council on even the smallest alteration in the status quo.”

He looked pained, but renewed his eye contact, his voice soft and persuasive. “Surely you too understand the pain of being a progressive Kage in a village with a history of brutality against its own people. I question whether now is the time for action, but I too feel that the way things are is wrong.”

For a moment her expression softened as she considered his words. The Kage who cared for her people warring with the zealot raised to revere the royalty above all others.

Naruto watched her with bated breath. He couldn’t help but admire how charismatic his friend had become. Not a single one of the Uzumaki’s arguments had gotten through to the Mizukage, but just a few words from the young Kazekage had made her pause.

Unfortunately, from the hardened look currently taking over her face, it seemed that the zealot was winning.

Her mouth twisted. “I have fought from within the system for years to bring peace to my village, but doing things the right way is never easy! I can hardly believe that all of you would entertain this treason. I’m disappointed that all of you would allow yourselves to be swayed by this criminal-” She pointed dramatically at Sasuke, “-this blasphemer!”

Gaara looked stricken and reached out to the woman as if to physically soothe her, “Mizukage-sama-”

She cut him off sharply, “No. I’m probably most disappointed with you, Kazekage. You actually made me question. Tried to use my love for my village against me.”

Naruto was quick to rush to his friend’s defense, “You can’t talk to him like that! Like he doesn’t love his village too! He almost died for Suna!”

The former Jinchuuriki raised a hand to quiet the Konoha nin, though he sent him a grateful glance. “Thank you, Naruto, but that isn’t necessary.” He turned and addressed Mei, “It was not my intention to make you feel manipulated, Mizukage-sama. Merely to express my personal feelings on the subject.”

“Be that as it may,” she replied with great dignity, “I can’t in good conscience support such a course of action, regardless of timing.”

Mei surveyed the room, eyes narrowed as her eyes fell on Sasuke. “In fact, I think my duty is clear. If you plan to target the Daimyo, with or without Kage support, I will stand against you.”

She turned as if to leave, “I’ll start by informing the Daimyo of this meeting immediately.”

“That would be a mistake.” Sasuke’s deep voice gave Naruto a start and before the blond teen had time to so much as blink, the Uchiha was blocking the woman’s way with his sword.

There was a hiss of sand as Gaara tried to intercept any aggressive action and Naruto choked, “Sasuke, don’t-” knowing intimately how fast the nin could move if he wanted to.

Sasuke shot him a look that expressed his utter despair over Naruto’s extreme lack of intelligence as Gaara’s sand rushed to surround both him and the Mizukage once again.

“Dobe,” his vice was filled with exasperation, “my only aim was to prevent her going anywhere.”

The Uzumaki flushed over the look and the insult. “How am I supposed to know that, Teme? You’ve been acting totally crazy this whole time!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blond teen before turning his attention to his captor. “Gaara. I already showed you this was pointless. Release me.”

Mei made a noise of distaste. “As much as I hate say anything that sounds remotely similar to agreement with this criminal, my lava release could get me out of this hold in moments Kazekage.”

Gaara’s expression was inscrutable. “I mean no disrespect, but I don’t believe either of you have the chakra for that. Sasuke, even if you do, I would merely block you from attacking her again. My sand hardly requires any chakra, I could do this all day.”

An uncomfortable silence fell in the tent as neither nin was able to escape, proving the former Jinchuuriki’s point.

The Raikage’s voice was dry as he quipped, “Welcome to the party.”

Tsunade sighed. “Really, Mei? Running to tattle to teacher? It’s all just talk right now.”

Mei hissed, “Don’t make light of this, Tsunade! This is sedition.”

Naruto held out his hands, imploring her to listen. “Hey, seriously! We’re just saying we want to talk to them. No one has to get hurt! Don’t make this out to be something it’s not.”

She sneered, “Oh I’ve seen how you conduct your ‘talks’. How long before your Uchiha gets impatient and goes for the kill?”

The Konoha nin grimaced, unable to contest the point, but Gaara spoke up. “Has Sasuke managed to lay a finger on any of us today? Naruto or I have contained all outbursts. If I keep tabs on their actions and promise to interfere with any violent moves towards the Daimyo, will you hold off on reporting this?”

Mei looked deeply conflicted, “It is true that you have maintained the peace here, almost single-handedly, Kazekage. But if something were to happen and I had done nothing, I’m not sure if I could live with that.”

The Kazekage dipped his head in acknowledgement. “I can understand that. How about if I take responsibility for any outcome you deem unacceptable.”

A shocked expression crossed the woman’s face. “That would give me a lot of latitude. How can I trust that I could hold you to such a promise?”

Gaara met Naruto’s eyes as he responded. “I never go back on my word,” he looked back at the Mizukage, “That’s my Nindo.”

Sasuke released an irritated sigh and Naruto flushed hearing his redheaded friend repeat his words with such sincerity.

Mei’s eyes darted between the three teens, trying to understand the interplay.

“I’ll second that.” Tsunade’s voice was firm as she expressed her support. “I can’t have Suna taking full responsibility for the actions of my nin.”

After a moment, the Mizukage sagged in the sand holding her. “If Konoha and Suna will both take responsibility, and neither Kumo nor Iwa will support me against them, I won’t speak against this meeting with the Daimyo. But don’t expect Kiri to participate in it either.”

“Thank you, Mizukage-sama.” Gaara bowed shallowly before slowly withdrawing the sand holding the Kiri nin.

Sasuke huffed in aggitation over his continued imprisonment.

Naruto sent his dark-haired friend a cheeky grin. “Serves you right, Teme.”

“So to summarize,” Oonoki begun briskly, “I don’t care, the Hokage doesn’t care, the Kazekage and Raikage want to wait, and the Mizukage is abstaining.”

“I would say that’s accurate.” Having voiced his agreement, Gaara addressed Mei, “If we agree to reconvene and discussing this again at a later time, would you agree to join us for the discussion, Mizukage-sama?”

Sasuke’s brow creased in irritation, “That’s not-”

The Kazekage interrupted him quickly, “You said Naruto’s cooperation was preferable, do you really think you’ll keep it if you don’t give us time to consider such a radical change to the government, or at least to evaluate the status of our villages first?”

A sour look crossed the Uchiha’s face and his heterochromatic gaze flicked over to Naruto.

“Come on, Teme. Don’t you think we’ll have a better chance of really changing things if we can get the majority of the Kage to work with us? Or is this as far as our agreement will take you?”

Naruto felt a little queasy as he held eye contact with his friend.

This whole thing could fall apart right here.

After a tense minute, the Uchiha relented. “Answer Gaara’s question, Mizukage.”

The Kiri kunoichi sneered at the dark-haired teen, before responding to the original question. “My answer isn’t going to change, Kazekage, but I do like the idea of another opportunity to get you all to see reason. I’ll join you if you reconvene.”

“Thank you, Mizukage-sama.” Gaara’s voice was rough with gratitude. “Let us agree to meet again, in say, a month? We can discuss the state of our villages as well as the subject of the Daimyo at that time.”

“Excellent suggestion, young Kazekage!” Oonoki’s voice was jovial. “That gives us all time to do damage assessments and maybe appoint successors.”

The Raikage grunted. “Speak for yourself, you old fence-sitter. Successors, my ass...” He muttered in irritation before once again addressing the group. “A month seems acceptable to me as well, though. It will give the Uchiha time to lose his shit and us a chance to see how the Uzumaki reigns him in.”

The man chuckled at the resultant death glare he received from said Uchiha.

“What do you say, Uchiha?” Tsunade sounded like she was handing out a challenge. “Ready to prove the Raikage wrong?”

Sasuke’s face smoothed out and he stood a little straighter in the restraining sand. “Fine. You’ve got a month. But then our plan goes into action, regardless of what you all decide. Right, Naruto?”

The teen felt a burst of affection for the fair nin. “What else could I say to a concession like that, Teme?”

Naruto met the eyes of each leader in turn. “It’s agreed. A month. Sasuke and I will make our move after the meeting, with or without the Kage.”

There was a tense moment as all of they all considered the ultimatum.

Tsunade clapped her hands breaking the tension. “Well let’s get to it! Enough standing around, it’s damage assessment time. We should let these two troublemaking brats get some rest too. They look like they’re about to drop. You’d think they just saved the world or something.”

Oonoki laughed. “True, while we were dreaming, they were fighting. Impatient youngsters, I bet they haven’t really rested since the start of the war!”

Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly.

Gaara pinned Ei and Sasuke in turn with stern looks. “Can I trust the two of you not to try and kill each other if I release you?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m ready to be done with this whole business.” The Raikage grumbled.

The sand slowly slid away from the Kumo nin, who shifted and stretched after being held immobile for so long.

Everyone turned to look at the dark-haired teen who remained bound.

Not reacting to the scrutiny, Sasuke treated Gaara to a bland stare.

Finally the Kazekage began to withdraw the last of his sand.

The Mizukage and Raikage both tensed, being the closest to the Uchiha as well as the most distrustful of him.

When he was free, Sasuke sheathed his sword with a mocking, excruciating slowness, his disdain palpable.

With a final glare the Raikage passed behind him to exit the tent and the Tsuchikage followed with a nod for the others.

Sasuke still blocked Mei from leaving and she seemed reluctant to step around him.

He turned his cold eyes to her. “Don’t think I won’t find out if you send word to the Daimyo. If you make yourself too much of a nuisance it will end badly for you.”

She sneered, “I have nothing more to say to you.”

Visibly unimpressed by the Kage, the Uchiha stepped aside and gestured toward the exit.

The Mizukage left without another word.

Tsunade slapped Naruto on the back, staggering him briefly. “Well good luck with that Uchiha! Get some sleep, Brat”

She turned to leave, but as she approached his friend, she held out a hand.

Bemused Sasuke stared at her, immobile.

“It’s not a snake, Kid.” She snickered at her own joke, before withdrawing her hand. “Anyway. Welcome back, Brat. Despite what you may think, you were missed.”

He tilted his head as if considering her words, but when he didn’t respond further, the Hokage nodded to herself and moved past him out of the tent.

Gaara gave Naruto a brief smile before heading over to Sasuke.

He didn’t speak, but when he reached the dark-haired teen, Gaara placed a hand on the other’s shoulder.

Naruto was a little surprised, but the Kazekage seemed pleased that the Uchiha allowed it.

Sasuke and Gaara seemed to be engaging in some sort of super-secret-stoic-nin-silent-communication that completely eluded the blond teen.

Completely baffled by his two friends, Naruto watched as after a short time Sasuke gave a small nod and Gaara returned it with a tentative smile. And with that, the last Kage turned and silently left the tent.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the all important Kage talk! Were you guys surprised with how it ended up? Our boys aren't going to have an easy time of things. I chose to make Mei out to be a major Daimyo stan because of her role in the Daimyo Protection Squad in the war. She seemed so thrilled to be escorting a Daimyo in episode 268, even when he acted kind of condescending with her. 
> 
> I was conflicted about posting this weekend as it ate up the last of my buffer of chapters written before I posted chapter one, but my finals for Uni are this week and I knew I wouldn't have any time to write. I have most of the next chapter written already, so hopefully I'll have a productive week following finals.
> 
> How do you guys feel about smut? I tend to go all out, as those of you who have read my other piece already know. I don't really want to post sex separately, but does anyone want it blocked out with dividers or should I just be clear with my tags? I tend to mix important character interactions in, but I don't mind summarizing important bits on request. Please let me know if there are any strong feelings. I can't promise I'll follow suggestions to the letter, but I'd like to be considerate.


	4. Baby, We Done Enough Talking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is from "Now or Never" by Halsey

* * *

Sasuke and Gaara seemed to be engaging in some sort of super-secret-stoic-nin-silent-communication that completely eluded the blond teen.

Completely baffled by his two friends, Naruto watched as after a short time Sasuke gave a small nod and Gaara returned it with a tentative smile. And with that, the last Kage turned and silently left the tent.

* * *

Once they were completely alone, Sasuke sighed deeply. Suddenly looking completely exhausted, the dark-haired teen shuffled back to the large surgical cot opposite the tent entrance and slumped down to sit.

Doujutsu dropping, he tilted his head back, dark eyes pinning the Jinchuuriki in place with their intensity, the look completely at odds with his fatigued posture.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, breaking the uncomfortable eye contact.

“So… that could have gone better...” he coughed to dispel some of his nervousness, “But thanks for adjusting your plans…”

“Hn.” His friend’s face looked like he couldn’t decide if he was inconvenienced or amused. “It honestly went a lot better than I expected. Nobody died.”

The Uzumaki sputtered, “Seriously, Teme? Is that what you thought? I knew you were sitting there being all negative before they came in! Ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophesy? That shit with the Raikage totally got us off on the wrong foot!”

Sasuke gave him an eloquent look. “You said yourself that we should come from a position of strength. That I should be the stoic muscle. It worked didn’t it?”

“You know that wasn’t what I-!” Naruto clenched his teeth in irritation. “What do you mean it worked? How? It worked in spite of you! All you did was make sure they’d think you’re batshit crazy!”

The Uchiha didn’t match his rival’s level of agitation, voice even. “I don’t particularly care what they think of me. It had the desired effect. If the Kage view me as some psychopath that only you can manage, they have to give your words more weight.”

That brought Naruto up short. “So that wasn’t just you reacting? You were acting like that for the plan? For me?”

The other nin regarded him blankly. “Don’t assume that everything I do is emotionally driven. That’s your handicap, not mine, Dobe.”

“Oh.” The Uzumaki was so bemused that he didn’t rise to the bait of his friend’s insult. He found himself going over Sasuke’s behavior in his mind. In that light, it made a certain kind of sense.

Kurama spoke up, “ _Oi, Brat. Don’t misinterpret his actions. This wasn’t some sort of romantic gesture. He just said it himself. It wasn’t emotionally driven. The erratic behavior, his support of you, even that cute moment where you almost held hands,_ ” the fox sneered, as if momentarily overcome by disgust, “ _it was all calculated to push his agenda._ ”

Naruto bit his lip, “ _I don’t know… It just seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to if he didn’t care. He chose to try it my way even though his plan was simpler. He made a lot of concessions today…_ ”

Tails twitching in frustration, the Bijuu rumbled, “ _You have to stop thinking of him as the same boy you grew up with. He’s treating you like you’re a powerful threat he can’t easily overcome. Pacifying you is just a strategy_.”

He opened his eyes to meet Sasuke’s dark gaze. ‘ _I just can’t believe that’s all there is to it…_ ’

The Uchiha’s expression was thoughtful. “Your Bijuu takes a lot of your attention. Do you always stop to listen when he speaks?”

Scratching the back of his head ruefully over the lapse, Naruto laughed weakly. “Sorry, it’s probably kind of annoying that I keep tuning out. But yeah, I really respect him. We don’t always agree, but sometimes he sees things I don’t.”

Sasuke’s sharp eyes searched his face for a moment. “He doesn’t like me much does he?”

Naruto grimaced. “Not so much, no.”

His friend continued to examine him intently before seeming to come to some sort of decision.

Without a word of explanation he unzipped his shirt and stripped it off with brisk movements.

The blond teen felt his face flush violently and he let out an undignified sound. When Sasuke started to untie his Shimenawa belt, he finally found his voice. “W-what are you doing, Teme?”

Sasuke paused, treating him to an absolutely blistering look of disdain.

“We’re having sex, idiot.”

Naruto’s brain shut down and he sputtered incoherently. “Wha- w-wait a minute, Teme… You can’t just-”

“What? You don’t want to?” the other teen deadpanned. “Don’t make me laugh.”

Embarrassment fading, the Uzumaki grit his teeth to avoid shouting as a wash of irritation became his overriding emotion.

“Hey, asshole, I just realized that I like you a few hours ago! I’m not…” he trailed off, embarrassed again and also sort of confused. “I mean, how do boys even…”

Sasuke raised a brow with an incredulous look. “Seriously? You trained under two of the most notorious perverts in the shinobi world and I need to give you sex ed?”

Stung, the blond teen snapped back, “Shut up, Teme! I could say the same to you. I’m sorry that unlike your sensei, Ero-sennin didn’t like little boys!”

The dark-haired nin’s face twisted, but Naruto pressed on.

“I have an idea of how it works with girls, okay? But _apparently_ I only like you, so I haven’t had a chance to get all expert with this shit!”

His friend’s expression was still sour, but then he rolled his eyes, “Really, Dobe?”

Naruto just crossed his arms, not about to back down.

Sasuke sighed. “I guess I can tell you what to do...” As if that was some big concession.

The blond teen smacked himself in the forehead. “You’re missing the point, asshole! Why are you so intense about this all the sudden? It doesn’t even make sense!”

“Tch.” The Uchiha sneered. “You’re so obnoxious. Why can’t you just do what I say?”

Naruto sent him an eloquent look. “Because you’re obviously being ridiculous right now.”

He must have stumbled upon an effective argument because his friend actually seemed to consider his words briefly.

When Sasuke responded it was with a softer voice, “I need to be sure of you. You’re too dangerous to be held by just the promise of something.”

The Uzumaki felt his heart sink in dismay. That was a little too close to what Kurama had said for comfort.

He tried to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach, but his voice came out gruff with emotion. “Are you serious, Teme? I thought I convinced you that I was on your side?”

The look in Sasuke’s dark eyes was cold. “You convinced me that I have a means to manipulate you. I decided to hear what you had to say about my plans as a result.”

Naruto grimaced. Not much room for interpretation there.

But he couldn’t help but feel something wasn’t quite right about what Sasuke was saying.

“I don’t even know what to say to that, Sasuke… But I have a hard time believing you when you act like you don’t have feelings.”

The other teen’s only response was to lean back on his hands and regard him with hooded eyes.

Finally, after an awkwardly long stretch of silence, Sasuke broke it with a sigh. “Whatever. I told you my reasoning, so have you worked out whatever mental problem you’re having yet?”

Naruto kinda wanted to strangle him.

“My ‘mental problem’ is that I’m not going to have sex with you in this tent!”

“Really?” Dark eyes narrowed dangerously. “Do you really think I’m going to make this offer again if you turn me down? If you aren’t feeling cooperative on something like this, maybe I’ve made a mistake. Maybe I should reconsider our truce.”

_Shit._

The blond felt himself deflate, feeling conflicted.

Kurama growled in his head, “ _I don’t like this, Naruto… I know you’re hung-up on this little shit, but you know this isn’t how things should be._ ”

He knew his Bijuu was right, but… He had been so happy during the meeting with the Kage. His friend sticking up for him like that was something he would have never even dreamed of.

The Konoha nin had wanted this peace between them for so long, and the idea that it could be so fragile scared him.

“Damn it, Sasuke.” His voice was soft enough to be barely audible, but he could tell the Uchiha had heard him as the teen raised an imperious brow.

Maybe if his friend weren’t so fucking gorgeous, this wouldn’t be so hard.

He fidgeted with the bottom of his mesh shirt. “Does it have to be sex? I mean- I’ve never-” he felt overwhelmingly shy, and it irritated the Uzumaki enough that he was able to power through it somewhat.

“We haven’t even held hands yet, Teme. I don’t know what things have been like for you the last couple years, but, um, you’re still the only person I’ve ever kissed…”

As he stared at the ground, the teen wondered briefly if anyone had ever died of mortification before.

“Usuratonkachi, Look at me.” The Uchiha’s voice was empty of emotion, but when he reluctantly raised his eyes he noticed what could have been a hint of something fond on his friend’s face.

Sasuke’s drawl turned somewhat teasing, “I didn’t expect you to be such a virgin, what with your inability to respect other people’s personal space.”

Naruto felt all mixed up, relief at the stoic teen’s change in demeanor mingling with irritation and lingering embarrassment.

Settling on sullen, he muttered, “Asshole, there’s nothing wrong with being a virgin. And it was really only your personal space I invaded…”

A funny look crossed the dark-haired nin’s face but it cleared quickly, his expression turning thoughtful.

The Uchiha huffed. “Dobe, will you get over here if I say it doesn’t have to be sex this time?”

_This time?_

Nervous, the blond teen bit his lip.

Mixed feelings aside, the bastard had backed down for now and he found himself asking tentatively, “Are you going to take off any more clothes?”

His friend rolled his eyes dramatically and immediately finished untying his Shimenawa. “I’m going to get comfortable. If you’re coming over here you should do the same. I hate the feeling of other people’s mesh against my skin.”

For some reason the idea that Sasuke had enough experience to know such a thing made his insides twist.

But he was definitely curious, and he did want to be close to the other teen…

As Sasuke started on his sandals, Naruto came to a decision.

With a furious blush he stripped off his mesh shirt, pants, and sandals quickly, leaving him to stand awkwardly in his boxers.

The Uchiha had both brows raised when Naruto looked back up and he felt like his face actually caught fire.

He must have looked as utterly flustered as he felt because rather than the characteristic snide remark, the other teen shifted to make room for him on the cot without saying a word.

Shuffling forward, he left his clothes where they lay, grateful Sasuke had kept his pants on and his comments to himself.

It felt like the distance between them was much greater than it should have been and he found himself stopping just short of the cot, fidgeting as he looked down at his friend.

The dark-haired nin had moved to lay on his side, his head pillowed on his arm and Naruto found his eyes being drawn to the scattered scratches and contusions leftover from their fight. The marks were livid against pale skin and the Jinchuuriki felt a strange thrill knowing he put them there.

“Enjoying yourself?” The Uchiha’s voice was dry.

Strangely enough, the taunt put him back in more comfortable territory, and he flopped down on the cot, shoving the other nin playfully.

“Shut up, Teme. Not everyone can be as _sophisticated_ as you.”

“That’s a big word for you, Dobe. Did you actually pick up a book?”

“Har har, asshole.” Naruto fell silent.

He studied his friend’s face, now that he had a few moments to do so. Sasuke’s features had thinned down considerably in the last few years, lines sharp and elegant. But, despite the lack of expression, the teen’s dark eyes were the same as he remembered.

Their familiarity filled the Uzumaki with a warm fondness.

Lying this close, he found himself whispering when he spoke.

“Can I touch you, Teme?”

He received an exasperated look. “That was the idea, idiot.”

“Yeah, I mean, obviously.” Naruto glanced away briefly in embarrassment. “But do you _want_ me to touch you? You made it sound like you felt like you _had_ to do stuff with me. I don’t want it to be like that.”

Sasuke looked at him like he was completely naive and stupid. It was a very condescending expression, but for some reason Naruto kinda got the impression that the nin actually found what the blond teen had said a little charming.

The Uchiha huffed. “It’s _fine_ , Usuratonkachi.”

That wasn’t exactly the answer he was looking for, but he decided to let it go. Sasuke was the one pushing things after all.

Naruto reached out and touched the other’s cheek tentatively. When nothing exploded, he sighed and shifted his hand to rest in the crook of his friend’s neck, thumb brushing his jaw.

He felt powerful touching Sasuke like this. His skin so soft under his fingers, the dark-haired teen’s pulse fluttering under his palm.

His pale face didn’t give Naruto much of an idea of how he felt about the touch, but the blond nin kind of liked how passive he was.

It felt so submissive, even if the Uchiha was anything but.

Deciding to continue his exploration, he slid his fingertips down to a prominent collar bone. His touch was feather light as he ran his hand back and forth along the length. The Uzumaki had never paid much attention to collar bones before, but he had to admit that he found Sasuke’s particularly attractive.

His gaze returned to the other nin’s face but still couldn’t read much there. He hoped that his friend was at least enjoying the attention, if not the touch itself.

“You will say something if I do something you don’t like, won’t you, Teme?”

An arch look crossed Sasuke’s face. “You’ll definitely know it if you do something I don’t like, Dobe.”

For some reason the snark seemed charming in this situation and Naruto felt a lopsided smile pulling at his lips. “Just checking, Teme.”

The Uchiha made an irritated noise. “Will you get on with it?”

He hummed in response and brought his attention back to his fingers.

The Uzumaki considered briefly what to do next.

He brushed lightly from the delicate bone his touch had lingered on, down the side of the teen’s chest, tracing the margins of his fit frame.

Naruto wondered idly if his friend was ticklish anywhere, the idea of drawing a reaction from the quiet nin exciting him.

He imagined pale skin flushing pink, Sasuke gasping, laughing unwillingly. He wondered if he would he squirm and fight to get away from the sensation.

Naruto’s hand came to rest cupping the other’s ribcage, and he pressed his thumb lightly into a defined oblique. The only response was a bored look.

The blond teen wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. Maybe it was their positions?

Impulsively, he tugged Sasuke sharply closer, sneaking his other arm down under the dark-haired nin’s waist.

That definitely got a reaction.

The Uchiha kept his silence but now his eyes burned, the blankness slipping away. At first glance it looked like irritation, but when Sasuke didn’t push him away, the Jinchuuriki wondered if the other might have liked the manhandling a little.

Besides, it was much better holding him like this.

Enjoying the line of contact from thigh to abdomen, Naruto wiggled his hips to feel their bared skin slide together.

Humming low in his throat, he was surprised at how _amazing_ it felt.

He felt himself start to get hard and expected to feel embarrassed with his dick pressed against his friend’s stomach, but the way that Sasuke’s eyelids slid to a lazy half-mast grabbed his attention.

Naruto hadn’t ever seen an expression quite like it on the dark-haired nin’s face before, and the softness of it stole his breath for a moment.

Feeling almost compelled, Naruto’s brought his free hand back to the side of the other’s neck and began drawing their faces together for a kiss.

Sasuke’s hands came up immediately to resist being pulled closer, his lip curled in mild distaste. “No kissing.”

The Uzumaki felt a rush of disappointment and frustration. “Wha-? Seriously, Sasuke? But we’ve done it before!”

“Tch. And those were such transcendent experiences, Dobe.” His tone was absolutely scathing. “I don’t happen to enjoy people slobbering all over my mouth and face.”

Naruto practically growled in irritation. Why did the bastard have to be so difficult?

Being willing to have sex with him, but not kiss him felt so fucking backwards. The blond couldn’t decide if he felt insulted, cheated, or just jealous of anyone who had ever kissed the Uchiha for real.

He let the negative emotions wash over him for a moment, glaring into those unimpressed eyes, before pushing the feelings aside with closed eyes and a deep release of breath.

Something about the way his friend had phrased his complaint tickled the back of his mind.

His eyes popped back open. “Can I kiss you other places?”

The dark-haired teen seemed taken aback, tilting his head to the side, considering.

After a brief moment, the other nin hummed, his voice dismissive. “You can put your mouth anywhere else you like.”

Naruto’s mouth went a little dry. Why did everything out of the asshole’s mouth have to be so provocative?

He cleared his throat, but his voice still came out rough when he spoke, “You’ll have to let me closer then, Teme.”

With narrowed eyes, Sasuke released the tension in his arms and allowed the Uzumaki to pull him closer.

Feeling like pushing the seemingly arbitrary boundary, the blond stopped just short of their lips touching, barely a breath of space between their noses. He felt his friend’s irritated exhalation on his face.

Smiling at the reaction, the blond turned his head and rubbed his cheek along the other teen’s jaw. He loved the feeling of his face against Sasuke’s soft skin and it got him back in the mood for some more exploration.

He pulled the Uchiha closer still, wrapping him firmly in his embrace. He was pleased when the dark-haired nin relaxed in his arms, the previous reluctance melting away.

Naruto shifted the arm resting under his friend’s waist and stroked the skin along his spine. The small of his back in particular was so appealing it should be illegal. Did the bastard do something special for his skin to be so perfect?

It was kind of a funny thought, but the Jinchuuriki honestly couldn’t imagine the other teen spending any kind of time on something unrelated to building strength.

He was getting distracted though. He still wanted to test the limit that Sasuke had set for him, to see how close he could kiss to his face and still get away with it. It got him a little worked up just thinking about it.

Deciding he needed a different angle for his approach, he shoved Sasuke onto his back.

Naruto paused for a moment, taken aback by the view. The way Sasuke laid there under him, gorgeous and passive, his hair fanned around his face, niggled the back of his mind as familiar.

After a beat, he gave himself a mental shake. Maybe better not to think too hard about it.

The blond teen leaned over his friend and rubbed his face against the Uchiha’s jaw again.

He managed to leave a few dry kisses along it before Sasuke made an irritated noise and dug his nails sharply into the skin under his hands in protest.

Naruto gasped, burying his face against the other’s throat, a fierce wave of arousal hitting him hard.

He decided to take the hint, not sure if he could take another similar attack.

Inhaling deeply, he was almost overwhelmed by the musky scent of the other’s sweat. The smell of Sasuke’s exertion was so much more attractive than any of the flowery scents he had smelled on girls. He wanted to roll in it, rub it into his skin.

The Uzumaki couldn’t help but wonder if the bastard tasted as good as he smelled.

He licked the skin under his lips tentatively and the teen underneath him tensed but didn’t push him away or complain. Naruto took that as permission to continue.

Licking his way to his friend’s pulse point, he savored the tang of salt on his skin. It was so delicious he kissed and licked over the spot repeatedly, the combination of the Uchiha’s taste and smell heady enough that it made him feel a little drunk.

Hoping to draw another reaction from the quiet teen, Naruto slid a hand down the dark-haired nin’s back to graze his ass with an open palm. The move didn’t inspire another response, but the Uzumaki liked feel of the muscle under his hand and kneaded it, deciding his friend had a nice ass.

His kisses were getting rougher as he got more excited, and when Naruto scraped his teeth harshly over Sasuke’s pulse, the nin let out a small breathy exhalation.

It wasn’t much of a reaction, but it set the Jinchuuriki on fire.

He thought that he might do just about anything to wring more sounds from like that from his friend.

Sasuke’s breath came faster as Naruto nipped and sucked roughly, abusing the flesh under his mouth.

The Uzumaki reveled in every soft little sound he managed to pull from his stoic friend. Each one felt like a victory.

Naruto continued like that for an indeterminate amount of time, before he finally pulled back to regard his handiwork.

He might have gotten a little carried away.

A livid trail of colorful marks littered Sasuke’s pale skin from his jaw to the crook of his neck and Naruto found himself running his fingers over them almost reverently.

He let his hand come to rest around the base of the fair nin’s throat and hummed, feeling quite satisfied at the sight.

The Uchiha was breathing in soft little pants and Naruto loved the sound of it so much that he found himself feeling incredibly disappointed when the dark-haired teen began to regain his composure.

Hand slipping away from Sasuke, he shifted uncomfortably. His erection was starting to bother him, but he decided to ignore it for now.

Naruto curled himself around his friend and laid head his on the other’s chest. Rubbing his cheek fondly against a firm pec, he settled in to enjoy the intimacy of the position.

Sasuke shifted under him. “What are you doing?”

“It’s called cuddling, Teme.”

Sasuke scoffed, “Don’t tell me that’s all you’re planning to do.”

He whined pitifully. “Leave me alone, asshole. Let me enjoy being close to you.”

The Uchiha regarded him with a sour twist to his mouth. “I was expecting you to get a lot ‘closer’ to me than that, idiot.”

“This is enough for me right now.” Naruto mumbled with his face still pressed to his friend.

“Tch.” Suddenly he was the one getting shoved on his back, “I’m pretty sure you have a pressing problem” and there was a hand on his dick.

Totally unprepared for the turn things had taken, an odd choked noise left him, and before he could muster any other response, the dark-haired teen grasped his length firmly and squeezed, pulling an embarrassing moan from the Uzumaki.

Sasuke’s voice was clinical when he spoke again. “Let me take care of this for you.”

The blond teen bit his lip, a little overwhelmed and caught between intense irritation and arousal. The bastard looked as if he were observing a mildly interesting experiment.

A furious flush rose in the Jinchuuriki’s face as he met those dark eyes.

Sasuke gave him a harsh stroke through his boxers as if to remind him he was waiting on an answer.

“A-ah, Teme…” Naruto gasped out breathlessly.

Apparently taking this as some sort of permission, the overzealous Uchiha let go and reached for the waistband of his underwear.

The moment’s reprieve gave his mind a chance to clear and he sat up quickly, capturing the other’s wrist to keep him from going any further.

“Seriously, Sasuke. That’s enough.”

Sasuke’s glare was vicious. “I’m not comfortable leaving it at this.”

Deciding to take a different tack, Naruto grasped his friend’s wrist and spun the Uchiha around so his back came to rest against him, contained safely in his lap where he couldn’t take charge again.

Though that also meant he had to resist the urge to grind into the other teen’s ass as it was pressed against his poor dick.

Trying to stay focused, he trailed a hand up the fair nin’s tensed abs and past his chest, to stop at his throat. He gripped it firmly, but not enough to be excessively threatening.

“Tell me this then, asshole, would you let anyone else touch you like this?”

Sasuke huffed, but otherwise stayed silent. He shifted, tilting his head to eye the Jinchuuriki peripherally without breaking the hold.

After a few tense moments he replied softly, “No.”

The Jinchuuriki felt a savage thrill at the word and pressed a toothy smile against the back of his friend’s neck.

“Yeah. That’s enough for me.” Naruto couldn’t help sounding a bit smug.

Apparently still undecided, the dark-haired nin waited a few more beats before the tension slowly drained out of his frame.

As the blond stroked the bruised skin under his fingertips, Sasuke sighed.

“You’re really fucking obnoxious, Usuratonkachi.”

He brought his free arm up to hug the Uchiha closer to him, resting his chin over his shoulder.

“Hm, yet here we are…” The Uzumaki’s voice was soft and thoughtful. “I’m not going to let you bully me on this. I’m going to go at my own pace, okay?”

Muscles coiled in the body he held captive and he tightened both the arm around his friend’s shoulders and the grip on his throat in warning. Thankfully the dark-haired teen decided to subside.

“I don’t want to fight you anymore, Teme. I _really_ am on your side.” He tried to keep his voice soft, but persuasive. “Us against the whole world if necessary, okay? I’m always gonna choose you. Even if I have to kick some sense into you every once in a while.”

Sasuke made a small scoffing noise but didn’t speak immediately.

When he finally did, his voice was low. “I’d still be more comfortable with the situation if you were getting more out of this.”

The blond teen blew out a breath, searching for patience.

“So fucking suspicious, Teme. Fine. You want to know what I get out of this?”

He pressed his fingers harshly into the marks he left close the Uchiha’s pulse point, drawing a quiet gasp from pale lips.

“You don’t have a mirror to see it, but I marked you up pretty good here. Everyone will see these bruises and know that I put them there.” The thought sent a fresh spike of arousal through his body and he had to work to focus on what he wanted to say.

“They’ll all know that you’re mine, Sasuke. That’s what I get out of this. I want you to be mine. I don’t want you to do this kind of stuff with anyone else.” He was nearly growling, but he couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed about it.

The dark-haired nin angled his head to meet Naruto’s eyes again, drawing his neck up in a taught line against the hand that still gripped him.

Dark eyes were hard to read as they regarded the Uzumaki, a flicker of emotion suppressed as quickly as it came.

Sasuke’s voice was flat when he spoke. “Hn. Fine.”

A sigh made its way from the Konoha nin’s lips and he relaxed the hold he had on the other teen.

Why did the bastard have to keep everything so close to his chest?

“So are you satisfied for now, asshole?” His voice came out more exasperated than he intended.

The jerk settled deeper into his lap with a wiggle that wrung a moan from Naruto’s mouth.

Sasuke’s voice sounded somewhat smug when he responded, “I guess.”

“Tch. Teme.” He bit the teen’s shoulder in retaliation, pleased when he received the loveliest choked little sound yet.

“We’ll get there eventually, jerk. I just don’t ever plan to do this with anyone else, so I’m not going to go skipping steps.”

A thoughtful hum was his only response.

He kissed the same place that he had nipped and trailed more soft kisses towards the back of his friend’s neck, stopping to inhale the scent at the Uchiha’s nape, hand dropping away from the other’s throat.

Naruto spoke, his lips brushing skin, “We should actually get some rest. We’ve been going nonstop for a while now.”

The dark-haired nin grunted in agreement before biting his thumb to perform a summoning.

With a pop and a bit of smoke, suddenly they were sharing the cot with a tiny snake.

Peeking over the other’s shoulder, the Jinchuuriki regarded the little creature curiously.

Though no words were exchanged, he got the impression that there was some kind of communication in their stare and when the snake bowed slightly, before slithering out of sight, it seemed a confirmation.

“Eiji will keep watch while we sleep, since we just painted a target on our backs.”

The Uzumaki grimaced. He hadn’t really thought of things in that way.

He felt a little stupid for not anticipating the possible consequences of their ultimatum beyond the immediate concerns.

Naruto was used to thinking of the members of the Shinobi Alliance as allies, and the thought that they might have ruined that made him a little sad.

But as his friend shifted in his arms, he decided that having this peace between them made any fallout worth it.

“Thanks, Eiji.” He called out softly, figuring it didn’t hurt to be polite.

He moved to lay down with his back facing the tent entrance, drawing Sasuke with him.

He didn’t mind taking the more vulnerable position, figuring that if someone did decide to come after them, he could handle most any type of damage.

Tangling their legs together, he let out a sigh. To fight off the melancholy mood trying to take hold of him, he cuddled the Uchiha close to him and was relieved when his friend didn’t resist or complain about it.

As he felt himself start to drift off he mumbled sleepily, “Us against the whole world, Sas.”

If his friend gave him any type of response, he was asleep too quickly to hear it. 

* * *

Despite the lack of security and his feelings of disquiet, Naruto’s sleep was a rare kind of restful. Any dreams he had were quiet, innocuous, and none the type to be remembered.

Naruto woke gradually, lulled by abnormal sensations of comfort and warmth.

Most mornings he woke shivering, settling for the nearest sweat shirt in hopes of catching a few more hours of sleep, before finally giving up to crawl out of bed bundled in blankets, and boil water for some ramen to warm his insides.

Eventually it was the cognitive dissonance of a _pleasant_ morning that brought him to full consciousness.

He felt around in confusion, brain still sluggish.

No blanket, no clothes. Why so warm?

Finally he realized the source of the warmth was the space heater curled around him from behind.

His brain caught up with him and he remembered.

_Sasuke_.

In their sleep the two teens must have shifted around and now Naruto was the one being embraced. He held his breath to hear the depth of his friend’s breathing, trying to gage how deeply asleep he was.

Moving would be a risk so close to such a highly trained ninja, but it sounded like the Uchiha was still in a fairly heavy sleep.

Naruto shifted experimentally and when there was no response to the movement, he slowly moved to face the dark-haired teen behind him.

He was less surprised not to have woken Sasuke up when he had the chance to look at him. The nin’s exhaustion was still clear in the lines of his face and the dark circles under his eyes.

The Uzumaki kept being struck anew by the realization of how much their fight must have taken out of his friend. With his face relaxed in unconsciousness, it was even more noticeable. He wondered if Sasuke’s sleep hadn’t been as restful as his or if this was just how recovery was for more normal people.

Still, Naruto couldn’t help but find the Uchiha breathtakingly beautiful. He hadn’t had a chance to see the other teen’s face soft with sleep in too many years, and the view had only improved with time, despite obvious signs of fatigue.

He desperately wanted to kiss him.

But that would disrupt much needed sleep and likely piss off the already temperamental teen.

Deciding he would test the waters with some light touching, Naruto reached out and brushed dark strands of hair back from Sasuke’s cheek.

When his friend didn’t stir, he grew bolder in his touches. He traced a defined cheek bone before trailing his fingers down the side of the Uchiha’s face. His hand came to rest with fingers tucked under Sasuke’s chin and he couldn’t resist rubbing his thumb lightly against pale lips.

He bore down on the lower lip and was surprised how arousing it was watching the tip of his thumb slip between his friend’s lips. The sight had Naruto throwing caution to the wind.

Carefully sliding his arms around the still sleeping Uchiha, Naruto pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Sasuke’s lips.

The thrill of contact was electric. Both that this had been forbidden him and the fact that this was _Sasuke_ made it almost too good to be true.

Completely losing track of any thought of stealth, he hungrily licked, nibbled, and sucked at the other teen’s lips with clumsy passion.

Sasuke was quick to wake with a muffled noise somewhere between confusion and aggravation and any hope that the dark-haired nin might tolerate or warm to the situation was quickly dashed.

With no further warning, Naruto’s muscles seized painfully as an actual electrical current coursed through his body and before he knew entirely what was happening he had been pushed entirely off the cot.

Dazed by the unexpected jutsu, he hit the ground heavily, all his breath leaving him in an undignified burst of noise.

The Jinchuuriki wheezed, feeling light headed as he tried to pull air into reluctant lungs. His head was filled with Kurama’s vicious cursing and a shrill ringing.

“Fu-uck, Teme.” Naruto coughed painfully, tasting blood. “You trying to kill me?”

“Tch.” Sasuke scrubbed an agitated hand across kiss swollen lips. “While that certainly would be much simpler, it was meant as more of a deterrent.”

 Kurama snarled, “ _That fucking hurt! Fucking crazy bitch! It’s way too early in the morning for me to have to save us from dying like that!_ ”

The Jinchuuriki, on the other hand, was too busy trying to remember how to regulate his breathing to get too worked up just yet. An uncomfortable prickling in his legs was also somewhat concerning.

“Did you have to fuckin’ electrocute me, Sasuke?” he groaned, hugging his ribs. “Why do you always have to react in the most extreme fuckin’ ways…?”

The look Sasuke gave him sent a chill down his spine, the Uchiha’s voice coming with a dangerous softness.

“You think that was extreme?”

He must have taken Naruto’s open-mouthed silence as answer enough as he continued. “You’re lucky I didn’t do worse. I gave you a clear boundary. Did you think I was being coy? Or did you think if you caught me in a vulnerable position I would just submit to your whims?”

An embarrassed heat rose in the Uzumaki’s face. “I didn’t-”

“You didn’t what? Didn’t think it was that important? Or didn’t think at all?” The dark-haired teen fixed him with a fierce glare. “Just because we have an arrangement doesn’t mean you can do anything you like to me. You get what I give you. Not a touch more.”

Naruto stared blankly at the other teen, unsure how to feel.

The kissing thing had seemed so arbitrary, he had been sure that Sasuke was just being difficult. But the violent reaction and sharp words made it seem like it was a lot more important than he had assumed. Was the Uchiha just being dramatic or had Naruto actually fucked up?

Levering himself up to sit, the blond nin sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I really didn’t think it would be that big a deal.”

He had begun firmly but it quickly degenerated into mumbling. “I don’t know, I guess I thought that if I had the chance to kiss you maybe it would be okay because it’s me? Like maybe you had a bad experience before because it was with someone you didn’t like? I really didn’t think it would upset you that much.”

His friend’s expression was bland. “You’re a fucking idiot.”

The Uzumaki cringed and scratched the back of his head. “I know, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Sasuke released an exasperated puff of air and fell back to lay on the cot. “Fine, whatever. But you can stay down there for now.”

Naruto bit his lip. It might be pushing his luck to ask, but- “I get that you don’t like kissing, but why _did_ you get so mad?”

Another aggravated sound left the Uchiha. “Are you serious? How do you not-?” He sat up in a jerky, agitated motion to glare at the Konoha nin.

Taking in the genuine confused distress on Naruto’s face, some of the ire faded from his features.

Pushing his bangs back from his face, Sasuke sighed. “I forgot who I was talking to for a moment… Of course you don’t have a clue.”

The Jinchuuriki struggled to fight back his offense at the condescending statement. He really was baffled by his friend’s reaction, so he didn’t actually have a lot of room for objection.

At his continued silence, Sasuke shifted to face him more fully, swinging his legs around to sit on the edge of the cot, leaning forward. “Naruto, are you familiar with the concept of consent?”

He didn’t want to look stupid, but this actually seemed pretty important. Besides, the blond nin doubted that Sasuke could judge him any worse than he already had anyway.

He scrubbed a nervous hand through his hair. “Uh, not really… no?”

Sasuke dropped his chin into his palm, dark eyes narrowed in thought. It was a few moments before he spoke.

“The simplest way to describe it is as permission. Consent is an agreement about what can happen between two or more people. Most discussions of consent occur in a sexual context.”

Naruto scratched his cheek, pondering the implications. “So it was just because I didn’t have your permission?”

He received a sour look in response. “No, not ‘just because’ anything. I very specifically told you _not_ to kiss me. I told you I hate it. You keep acting like my preference is silly when you clearly have strong feelings on the subject as well. And _that_ is the problem. You think your preferences are more important than mine. But make no mistake, if you force yourself on me in any way, I will defend myself.”

A squirming disquiet twisted the Uzumaki’s stomach as he tried to wrap his head around the idea that something that seemed so romantic and arousing to him could actually be so distasteful to Sasuke.

“I really didn’t mean to make you feel that way. Vulnerable,” he grimaced, “or forced. I still don’t completely get it, but I do get that I need to listen. I’m not good with this kinda stuff, so can you tell me what’s okay?”

Sasuke stared him down for a moment before speaking, “Don’t mess with me when I’m sleeping. I don’t like waking up like that.”

The blond teen felt another flash of guilt but pushed it aside for now. “Okay. What else?”

His friend pursed his lips briefly. “I don’t like public displays. Nothing sexual in front of other people.”

Naruto flushed violently. “Wha- obviously! I’m not even comfortable with that stuff in private!”

An exasperated huff left Sasuke.

“You need to get over that, so it’s relevant. You always used to hang all over me in public. It’s not an outrageous assumption to think that your lack of normal boundaries might extend to PDA.”

“Okay, but…” Naruto picked at a pebble lodged in the hard packed ground so he didn’t have to look at the other teen. “You keep talking about the way things used to be like it was bad…” He tried to sound casual, but probably failed. “Do you not want me to touch you at all in public?”

Sasuke didn’t answer right away and his felt a sinking feeling in his guts.

It must have shown on his face because his friend sighed. “Don’t take everything so personally. I prefer not to be touched, but I can tolerate it. It’s better if we seem close anyway. Just don’t do anything you wouldn’t have done when we were twelve.”

He still didn’t quite know how to feel about that, but figured the Uchiha would let him know if he stepped over the line.

“Right. Okay. So, uh-” the teen bit his lip trying to master his embarrassment over what he wanted to ask next.

“Spit it out, Dobe.” Sasuke’s voice was sharp with irritation.

Pulling both hands down his face the Konoha nin sucked in a deep breath. “What about when we’re alone?”

The Uchiha deadpanned, “What about it?”

“Really, Teme? You’re so fucking hard to read! One minute you’re pissed that I think you’re attractive and the next you’re stripping off your clothes and pressuring me into sex! Don’t be fucking obtuse about this! You want me to have sex with you but only if we’re not talking about something important, unless it’s your idea! Give me a fucking clue!”

Sasuke regarded him blandly for a few moments. “Are you done?”

“No!”

Naruto made an aggravated noise while scrubbing at his scalp with both hands. “I mean that I need a straight answer.”

“Fine. Don’t do anything I don’t tell you to.” His friend’s tone was dismissive.

The Uzumaki grumbled under his breath, “That’s not very fair if ‘anything’ includes looking at you wrong.”

This earned him a raised brow from the dark-haired nin.

A sigh burst from him, an involuntary show of his frustration. “Look, Teme, how am I supposed to get more comfortable doing stuff if everything is always on your terms? Would it be okay as long as I ask before I do anything?”

Sasuke pinned him with a sharp stare. “And if I say no? Will you keep pushing it?”

“I could ask you the same fucking question, Teme.”

His friend’s chin came up in surprise, and his eyes turned thoughtful. “Hm. Fair enough.”

“You give me some space, I give you some space, and we both try to push our own comfort zones?” Naruto couldn’t help the hopeful note that crept into his voice.

The Uchiha flopped back onto the cot “Sure. Fine. Fuck, you’re exhausting.”

Naruto shuffled, testing his legs and huffing, “Oh, because you’re a fucking breath of fresh air, asshole.”

But this time he didn’t get a response and the Uzumaki had to roll his eyes.

Silence stretched between them and after a few minutes, he found himself shifting uncomfortably on the ground.

“So… Are we gonna try to get a few more hours sleep or…?”

Sasuke groaned, “I guess fucking not.”

“Hey!” the Jinchuuriki exclaimed, feeling a little indignant. “You’re the one that electrocuted me and kicked me off the fucking cot!”

“And you’re the one who fucking earned it. Let’s not have this talk again.”

Unable to dispute the point, Naruto deflated somewhat. “Uh, yeah… Sorry… Again. _Fuck_.”

As he tried to find some kind of comfortable position he found that there didn’t seem to be a single patch of ground without embedded rocks.

But maybe he was a little hypersensitive and overstimulated from the electricity.

When the Konoha nin spoke again, it came out more tentative than he intended. “So, um… If I promise to keep to myself… Can I come back up there?”

“Will you shut up if you do?”

The Uzumaki winced at the sharp tone of his friend’s voice. “Yeah. It’s just kinda uncomfortable and cold down here.”

In response, the dark-haired teen rolled to grab his waist wrap from his neat pile of clothes with brusque, irritated motions, before draping the fabric over himself like a small blanket, and settling himself more comfortably on the cot.

“Fine. Whatever.”

Not wanting to further antagonize the other nin, Naruto carefully shifted up onto the cot.

He settled himself as unobtrusively as the space allowed, holding his breath as his back came to rest lightly against his friend. When Sasuke didn’t object, he released a quiet sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer to write than I anticipated. Sorry if I lied to you in the comments about when it would be out. These incredibly difficult children didn’t want to cooperate with me on where I wanted to end this thing. They were kicking and screaming the whole chapter. Eventually I just had to give up on my plan and let them have their way. 
> 
> I’m curious to see what you guys think. This was the first foray into a more intimate NaruSasu relationship. Things are going to start to diverge more from canon characterization here, but I hope it still manages to be entertaining.


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